In this episode of The Consumer Finance Podcast, Chris Willis and Lori Sommerfield discuss the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's (CFPB) recent withdrawal of more than 60 pieces of informal guidance, focusing on those...more
On May 15, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) officially rescinded its May 2022 interpretive rule concerning the scope of state enforcement authority under § 1042 of the Consumer Financial Protection...more
5/22/2025
/ Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA) ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Regulatory Authority ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Reform ,
State and Local Government ,
State Attorneys General ,
Statutory Interpretation ,
UDAAP
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) announced the withdrawal of 67 regulatory guidance documents, including interpretive rules, policy statements, and advisory opinions that have been issued since the...more
5/12/2025
/ Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA) ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Deregulation ,
ECOA ,
EFTA ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) ,
FDCPA ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Guidance Documents ,
Military Lending Act ,
Policy Statement ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Statutory Interpretation ,
Trump Administration ,
Truth in Lending Act (TILA)
On May 1, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit dismissed the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB or Bureau) appeal concerning the vacated amendments to its Unfair, Deceptive, or Abusive Acts and Practices...more
5/7/2025
/ Appeals ,
Banking Sector ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Discrimination ,
Discriminatory Lending Practices ,
ECOA ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Reform ,
UDAAP ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
In this episode of The Consumer Finance Podcast, Chris Willis is joined by Troutman Pepper Locke colleagues Lori Sommerfield and Lane Page to dissect two unexpected fair lending developments under the new Trump...more
This week, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) released a memo to staff outlining its new supervision and enforcement priorities for 2025....more
4/18/2025
/ Banking Sector ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Debt Collection ,
Discriminatory Lending Practices ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) ,
Fair Lending ,
FDCPA ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Mortgages ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Supervisory Guidance ,
Trump Administration
In a surprising turn of events, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) and Townstone Financial, Inc. (Townstone) have jointly moved to vacate the Stipulated Final Judgment and Order previously entered in...more
3/28/2025
/ Biden Administration ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Discriminatory Lending Practices ,
ECOA ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
First Amendment ,
Redlining ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Stipulated Judgment ,
Trump Administration ,
Vacated
We are pleased to share our annual review of regulatory and legal developments in the consumer financial services industry. With active federal and state legislatures, consumer financial services providers faced a challenging...more
2/17/2025
/ Automotive Loans ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA) ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Debt Collection ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinTech ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
TCPA ,
UDAAP ,
Uniform Commercial Code (UCC)
In this third episode of the Year in Review series of The Consumer Finance Podcast, host Chris Willis is joined by Lori Sommerfield, a partner in Troutman Pepper Locke’s Consumer Financial Services Practice Group, to discuss...more
Hours before a scheduled hearing yesterday, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) filed an “Emergency Notice” in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit with respect to the ongoing litigation...more
2/4/2025
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Data Collection ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Final Rules ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Lending ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Section 1071 ,
Small Business ,
Small Business Loans ,
UDAAP
In a significant and highly anticipated move, President Donald Trump has fired Rohit Chopra, the Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau). Rohit Chopra, who had been serving as the Director of the...more
On January 15, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) released a blog post highlighting the growing efforts by financial institutions to serve consumers with limited English proficiency (LEP). However,...more
On January 3, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued a press release announcing that accessiBe Inc. and accessiBe Ltd. (collectively, accessiBe) agreed to pay $1 million to settle allegations of deceptive advertising...more
1/6/2025
/ Advertising ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Enforcement Actions ,
False Advertising ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FTC Act ,
Marketing ,
Misleading Statements ,
Settlement ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices ,
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) ,
Website Accessibility ,
Websites
In a significant development, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) has finally reached a settlement with Townstone Financial, Inc. (Townstone) in the first redlining case brought against a nonbank...more
11/6/2024
/ Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Discriminatory Lending Practices ,
ECOA ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fair Lending ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Loan Applications ,
Mortgage Lenders ,
Race Discrimination ,
Redlining ,
Settlement
On October 29, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin and the state’s Division on Civil Rights (DCR) released a report detailing the findings of a multi-year investigation into Republic First Bank (Republic) and its...more
11/1/2024
/ Banks ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Discriminatory Lending Practices ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fair Lending ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Mortgage Lenders ,
Mortgages ,
Race Discrimination ,
Real Estate Transactions ,
Redlining
On October 15, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that they reached a settlement with Fairway Independent Mortgage Corporation (Fairway). This settlement...more
10/18/2024
/ Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA) ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Discriminatory Lending Practices ,
ECOA ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fair Lending ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Loan Applications ,
Mortgage Lenders ,
Race Discrimination ,
Redlining ,
Settlement
On October 10, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced a landmark redlining settlement with Citadel Federal Credit Union (Citadel), marking the first such agreement with a credit union in the DOJ’s history. This...more
10/14/2024
/ Consumer Financial Products ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Discriminatory Lending Practices ,
ECOA ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Equal Access to Credit ,
Fair Housing Act (FHA) ,
Fair Lending ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Loans ,
Mortgages ,
Race Discrimination ,
Redlining ,
Statutory Violations
Last week, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) announced it had entered into a consent order with NewDay USA, a Florida-based non-bank direct mortgage lender, over allegations that the lender misled...more
9/3/2024
/ Consent Order ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Consumer Lenders ,
Delinquent Borrowers ,
Department of Veterans Affairs ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Mortgage Lenders ,
Mortgages ,
Refinancing ,
Veterans
In this episode of The Consumer Finance Podcast, host Chris Willis and guest Lori Sommerfield discuss the status of the Department of Justice's (DOJ) Combatting Redlining Initiative. The initiative, which has been underway...more
Last week, the annual Community Reinvestment Act & Fair Lending Colloquium took place in Austin, Texas. Two officials from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) discussed in detail the “Combatting Redlining Initiative” led by...more
11/21/2023
/ Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Discriminatory Lending Practices ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fair Lending ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Lenders ,
Mortgage Lenders ,
Race Discrimination ,
Redlining
On October 24, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Wisconsin Department of Justice announced a settlement with Wisconsin auto dealer group Rhinelander Auto Center, Inc. (Rhinelander), its current and former owners, and...more
10/27/2023
/ Add-ons ,
Auto Lease ,
Car Dealerships ,
Discriminatory Lending Practices ,
ECOA ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Financial Contracts ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FTC Act ,
Motor Vehicles ,
Native American Issues ,
Race Discrimination ,
Settlement ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
In the last three weeks, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) reached two more settlements with lenders under its Combatting Redlining Initiative, which began in October 2021. On September 27, the DOJ announced that...more
10/23/2023
/ Consent Order ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Discriminatory Lending Practices ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fair Lending ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Lenders ,
Loan Applications ,
Mortgage Lenders ,
Race Discrimination ,
Redlining ,
Settlement
On August 28, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced its eighth redlining settlement under its Combatting Redlining Initiative. The settlement between the DOJ and the American Bank of Oklahoma, which originated from a...more
8/31/2023
/ Banks ,
Consent Order ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Discriminatory Lending Practices ,
ECOA ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fair Housing Act (FHA) ,
FDIC ,
Mortgage Lenders ,
Mortgages ,
Race Discrimination ,
Redlining ,
Settlement