The California Department of Business Oversight (DBO) has filed an administrative enforcement action against a title lender for alleged violations of California law and launched an investigation into whether the interest...more
3/26/2019
/ Ability-to-Repay ,
Administrative Authority ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Lenders ,
Department of Business Oversight ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Interest Rates ,
State and Local Government ,
Title Loans ,
Unconscionable Contracts
Politico has reported that in remarks made at a fintech policy event last week, Andrew Smith, the FTC’s Director of Consumer Protection, indicated that fintech companies will be a focus of the FTC’s enforcement activities....more
It appears likely that California Governor Jerry Brown will sign a bill passed on August 31 by the state’s Senate, Senate Bill 1235, which would create consumer-style disclosure requirements for certain commercial loans and...more
Resolving an ambiguity in the California Finance Lender’s Law (CFLL), the California Supreme Court unanimously held that borrowers may use the unconscionability doctrine to challenge the interest rate on consumer loans of...more
8/21/2018
/ Ability-to-Repay ,
CA Supreme Court ,
CashCall ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Lenders ,
Finance Lenders Law ,
Financial Services Industry ,
High-Interest Loans ,
Interest Rates ,
State and Local Government ,
Unconscionable Contracts ,
Unfair Competition Law (UCL) ,
Usury
Resolving an ambiguity in the California Finance Lender's Law (CFLL), the California Supreme Court unanimously held that borrowers may use the unconscionability doctrine to challenge the interest rate on consumer loans of...more
8/17/2018
/ Ability-to-Repay ,
CA Supreme Court ,
CashCall ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Lenders ,
Finance Lenders Law ,
Financial Services Industry ,
High-Interest Loans ,
Interest Rates ,
State and Local Government ,
Unconscionable Contracts ,
Unfair Competition Law (UCL)
Arizona’s Governor recently signed into law legislation that directs the state’s Attorney General to establish a “regulatory sandbox program” for the purpose of “enabl[ing] a person to obtain limited access to the market in...more
The New York Department of Financial Services has sent a letter directed to businesses that the DFS “understands…may be involved in online lending in the State of New York” and that asks recipients to complete a “New York...more
A bipartisan group of five House members introduced a bill (H.R. 4439) last month that is intended to address the so-called “true lender” issue, which creates risk with respect to some loans made by banks with substantial...more
Although the California Finance Lenders Law (the CFLL) does not limit the interest rates that may be charged on loans of $2,500 or more, Section 22302 of the law expressly states that loans made under the CFLL may be held...more
A new research paper released by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia found that fintech lending has expanded consumers’ ability to access credit. The paper, “Fintech Lending: Financial Inclusion, Risk Pricing, and...more
Democratic Senator Mark Warner has introduced a bill, S.1642, that would override the Second Circuit’s decision in Madden v. Midland Funding. (In Madden, the Second Circuit ruled that a nonbank that purchases loans from a...more
8/1/2017
/ Banking Sector ,
Consumer Lenders ,
Debt Buyers ,
Debt Collection ,
Interest Rates ,
Madden v Midland Funding ,
National Bank Act ,
OCC ,
Proposed Legislation ,
True Lender ,
Valid When Made Doctrine
Yesterday, I attended the CFPB’s field hearing in Los Angeles on small business lending. In connection with the hearing, the CFPB issued a white paper entitled “Key dimensions of the small business lending landscape,”...more
5/11/2017
/ Banking Sector ,
Comment Period ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Consumer Lenders ,
Data Collection ,
Dodd-Frank ,
ECOA ,
Fair Lending ,
Financing ,
Minority-Owned Businesses ,
Request For Information ,
Small Business ,
Women-Owned Businesses
The CFPB will hold a field hearing on small business lending in Los Angeles, CA on May 10, 2017. The announcement, which took the form of a posting on the events page of the CFPB’s website, contains only the usual statement...more
Two state-chartered banks, WebBank and Cross River Bank, recently filed complaints for declaratory judgment and injunctive relief against the Administrator of the Uniform Consumer Credit Code for the State of Colorado, Julie...more
A Democratic congressman has raised concerns about potentially discriminatory lending practices used by financial technology (fintech) companies that extend credit to small businesses, calling on the Consumer Financial...more
3/17/2017
/ Banking Sector ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Consumer Lenders ,
Discrimination ,
Discriminatory Lending Practices ,
ECOA ,
FinTech ,
Innovative Technology ,
Minority-Owned Businesses ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Small Business
Proposed legislation to implement New York Governor Andrew Cuomo's 2018 Fiscal Year Executive Budget would amend the New York Licensed Lender Law to significantly extend its licensing requirements. The proposal threatens to...more
2/15/2017
/ Banking Sector ,
Consumer Lenders ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinTech ,
Lenders ,
Licensing Rules ,
Loans ,
National Bank Charters ,
NYDFS ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Regulatory Oversight
The CFPB and the New York Attorney General this week filed an action against RD Legal Funding, LLC, two of its affiliates, and their principal (collectively, “RD”), alleging that a litigation settlement advance product...more
2/9/2017
/ Attorney General ,
Banking Sector ,
Civil Investigation Demand ,
Consumer Contracts ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Consumer Lenders ,
Contract Terms ,
Declaratory Judgments ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Injunctive Relief ,
Loans ,
RD Legal Funding ,
Section 1031 ,
UDAAP ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices ,
Usury
A recent Federal Trade Commission (FTC) consent order with two Ohio auto dealers creates uncertainty not only for auto dealers, but also for all other businesses advertising credit or lease offers. The order settled...more
7/20/2016
/ Auto Lease ,
Automotive Industry ,
Automotive Loans ,
Car Dealerships ,
Consent Order ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Lenders ,
Credit Ratings ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
False Advertising ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FTC Act ,
Popular ,
Section 5 ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
The Maryland Court of Appeals, the state's highest court, in CashCall, Inc. et al. v. Maryland Commissioner of Financial Regulation, recently affirmed the judgment of the Court of Special Appeals (MCSA) directing CashCall to...more
7/15/2016
/ Banking Sector ,
Banks ,
CashCall ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Lenders ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Interest Rates ,
Licensing Rules ,
Loan Origination Funds ,
Madden v Midland Funding ,
Online Marketplace Lending ,
Payday Loans ,
Preemption ,
Usury
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently held a FinTech forum addressing marketplace lending. The forum was promoted by the FTC as the first in a series it plans to hold exploring emerging financial technology and its...more
6/21/2016
/ Banking Sector ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Lenders ,
ECOA ,
Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinTech ,
Innovative Technology ,
Online Marketplace Lending ,
Popular
The U.S. Treasury Department has released a white paper addressing the online marketplace lending industry. Based in part on the responses to Treasury's July 2015 Request for Information (RFI), the white paper offers a broad...more
5/16/2016
/ Community Development Entities ,
Consumer Lenders ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Loans ,
Online Marketplace Lending ,
Peer-to-Peer ,
Request For Information ,
Small Business ,
Transparency ,
U.S. Treasury
The CFPB recently joined other federal regulators who have indicated a growing interest in marketplace lending with its announcement that it is accepting consumer complaints about loans obtained through marketplace lenders. ...more
The interest of federal regulators in marketplace lending continues to grow. In March 2016, the CFPB announced that it is taking complaints about marketplace lenders. In July 2015, the Treasury Department issued a request...more
The California Department of Business Oversight (DBO) has issued a summary report of aggregate data provided by the companies that responded to the DBO's online survey sent to 14 marketplace lenders engaged in online consumer...more
New guidance being developed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) to address risks associated with banks making loans through third parties could significantly impact marketplace lending, private label credit...more