It's no secret that 2025 turned the federal regulatory ecosystem on its head. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau was significantly downsized and almost neutered. The Federal Trade Commission's leadership and composition...more
5/4/2026
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Compliance ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Consumer Protection Laws ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Security ,
Deregulation ,
Enforcement Priorities ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Risk Management
On March 13, 2026, the Federal Trade Commission announced that it is sending warning letters to ninety-seven auto dealerships throughout the nation. The letters state, "[t]his letter is to advise you that you may be...more
3/17/2026
/ Advertising ,
Car Dealerships ,
Consumer Protection Laws ,
Dealerships ,
Enforcement Actions ,
False Advertising ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Hidden Fees ,
Price Transparency ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices ,
Warning Letters
In this article, we share a timeline of monthly "bites" for 2025 applicable to the auto finance industry....more
1/6/2026
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Automotive Industry ,
Car Dealerships ,
CARS Rule ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Consumer Lenders ,
Consumer Loan Companies ,
Consumer Protection Laws ,
Credit Reports ,
ECOA ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) ,
Loan Servicer ,
Loans ,
Military Service Members ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
Please join Hudson Cook partners Trisha Cacciola and Patty Covington for an update on the current state of ECOA and fair lending regulation under the new administration....more
6/3/2025
/ Borrowers ,
Credit Applicants ,
Credit Discrimination ,
Creditors ,
ECOA ,
Fair Lending ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Lenders ,
Loan Applications ,
Trump Administration ,
Webinars
In this article, we share a timeline of our monthly "bites" for 2024 applicable to the auto finance industry....more
Adverse action notices, a perennial compliance issue, should not be neglected and, indeed, warrant closer scrutiny. The CFPB has long been interested in adverse action issues....more
In this article, we share a timeline of our monthly "bites" for 2022 applicable to the auto finance industry.
So, what happened in 2022?...more
1/11/2023
/ Automotive Industry ,
Automotive Loans ,
Consent Order ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA) ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Consumer Lenders ,
Data Security ,
ECOA ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Nonbank Firms ,
Repossess ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Supervision ,
UDAAP
Eric Johnson, Patty Covington, and Nikki Munro located the old crystal ball, dusted it off, and looked intently at it to come up with auto sales, finance, and lease predictions for this year. Here's what they...more
Privacy and data security. If you don't have those issues on your radar, you should. Dealers have always had data privacy and safeguarding responsibilities. Nothing new here. But a change is coming. The basic privacy and data...more
In April, we wrote about the Georgia Attorney General's Office's warnings against deceptive advertising related to COVID-19 stimulus payments. In its guidance, the AG noted the possibility that representations implying that a...more
7/16/2020
/ Attorney's Fees ,
Car Dealerships ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Direct Mailing ,
Direct Payments to Families and Individuals ,
False Advertising ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Financial Stimulus ,
Fraud ,
Injunctive Relief ,
Marketing ,
Redress Payments ,
State Attorneys General ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
The COVID-19 situation has turned everything on its head. Most retail commerce is shut down, many are working from home, and it has become commonplace to plausibly forget whether today is a Monday or a Friday. Despite all the...more
The coronavirus hit the auto sales, finance, and lease business suddenly and hard. Companies in those areas were not alone - the entire U.S. economy is wrestling with the virus's effects. Every area of commerce, it seems,...more
4/22/2020
/ Advertising ,
Automotive Industry ,
Automotive Loans ,
Business Closures ,
Business Continuity Plans ,
Car Dealerships ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Credit Financing ,
Crisis Management ,
Marketing ,
Shelter-In-Place ,
Social Distancing ,
State of Emergency ,
Transfer of Title
Sometimes I write articles, but sometimes the articles write themselves. This is an example of the latter.
A few weeks ago, a car dealer client called and asked whether she had a legal problem if she was using more than...more
The California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 ("CCPA") was signed into law on June 28, 2018 and will take effect on January 1, 2020. The enforcement date - the first date on which the Attorney General may bring an enforcement...more
8/1/2019
/ California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) ,
Covered Entities ,
Data Collection ,
Data Mapping ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Sellers ,
GLBA Privacy ,
Gramm-Leach-Blilely Act ,
Personal Information ,
Privacy Laws ,
Risk Assessment ,
Risk Mitigation