It has been a busy time for us at Explainer Things. Awards season is over, but the fintech regulatory drama is in midseason form. The star of this episode is of course the Supreme Court’s decision on the future of the CFPB....more
6/5/2024
/ Constitutional Challenges ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau v Community Financial Services Association of America Ltd ,
Federal Funding ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinTech ,
Payday Loans ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
SCOTUS ,
Wage and Hour
Spring has sprung here at Explainer Things. The Oscars have come and gone. We've set the clock forward an hour and watched as our NCAA tourney brackets all exploded. Next stop is summer vacation, when our team will be trying...more
Hard to believe 2024 marks 25 years since the Y2K panic. If Y2K means little to you, you're either too young or, like many of us at Explainer Things, you've blocked out the memories of end-of-times fearmongering and...more
Typical legal newsletters might introduce a post-Thanksgiving edition with a line or two about gratitude for readers and clients. We at Explainer Things are certainly thankful for clients and readers alike, but we are far...more
12/1/2023
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Big Tech ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Crypto Exchanges ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Mobile Payments ,
OCC ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
TCPA
Our newsletter’s title is a nod to the semi-scary Netflix series Stranger Things. No surprise we are VERY excited about Halloween. You may notice that our regular pop culture references have gone horror-themed for this...more
11/3/2023
/ Banks ,
Civil Investigation Demand ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Data Management ,
Debit and Credit Card Transactions ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Fees ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Open Banking
Fall is finally in the air as temperatures drop (in some parts of the country, at least) and football season is in full swing. We’ve previously avoided writing about football because our Explainer Things cast can’t agree on...more
10/3/2023
/ Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Credit Reporting Agencies ,
Credit Reports ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Data Breach ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinTech ,
Ransomware ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
TCPA
It’s been the summer of the pop star—with nonstop news of Taylor Swift and Beyonce selling out stadium after stadium. Don’t let it “break your soul” as you’re “shaking off” summer and sending the kids back to school. We hope...more
It's the best of times and the worst of times for our pop-culture loving crew of consumer financial services lawyers. The movies are on a high with record box office receipts and stellar reviews for Barbie and Oppenheimer (or...more
8/2/2023
/ CFTC ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Consumer Lenders ,
Consumer Privacy Rights ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
IRS ,
Overdraft Fees ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
TCPA ,
Truth in Lending Act (TILA)
♫"Summertime and the living is easy"♫ or at least we hope it is for our growing readership. Our Explainer Things team is spicing up your consumer finance news with pop culture – Dua Lipa, The Big Lebowski, The Police, and The...more
Extreme Makeover: Payments Edition?
The CFPB's General Counsel, Seth Frotman, spoke to the Innovative Payments Association at its conference this month highlighting three "areas of concern" the agency has about the rapidly...more
This season of Explainer Things is progressing nicely, don’t you think? We’ve introduced our recurring characters, like cryptocurrency, data privacy, and CFPB Director Rohit Chopra. We’ve established the tone – lighthearted...more
5/5/2023
/ Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Influencers ,
Mobile Apps ,
Payment Systems ,
Peer-to-Peer ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Small Business Loans ,
Social Media ,
State Privacy Laws
On June 28, 2021, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued a final rule to amend the mortgage servicing rules in Regulation X, which implements the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act, to provide additional...more
6/30/2021
/ Borrower Protection Programs ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Delinquent Borrowers ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Foreclosure ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Mortgage Servicers ,
Mortgages ,
Policy Statement ,
Regulation X ,
RESPA
On April 21, 2021, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will extend certain loan origination flexibilities, including alternative appraisals on purchase and rate-term refinance...more
4/22/2021
/ Borrowers ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Fannie Mae ,
FHFA ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Freddie Mac ,
Housing Market ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Loan Origination Funds ,
Loans ,
Mortgages ,
Refinancing
On April 2, Florida Governor DeSantis issued Executive Order Number 21-81 prohibiting businesses "from requiring patrons or customers to provide any documentation certifying COVID-19 vaccination or post-transmission recovery...more
On March 29, 2021, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Acting Director Dave Uejio and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Acting Chairwoman Rebecca Slaughter issued a joint statement regarding their agencies’ work to stop...more
4/6/2021
/ Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Eviction ,
Failure To Pay ,
FDCPA ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FTC Act ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Joint Statements ,
Landlords ,
Moratorium ,
Public Health Emergency ,
Rent ,
Rental Property ,
Tenants
On April 1, 2021, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau rescinded seven policy statements issued between March 26 through June 3, 2020 that provided temporary relief from certain regulatory obligations during the COVID-19...more
4/2/2021
/ Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
HMDA ,
ILSA ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Policy Statement ,
Prepaid Payment Products ,
Regulation J ,
Regulation V ,
Relief Measures
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau this week urged financial institutions and debt collectors to allow federal stimulus payments to reach consumers. Although the CFPB did not issue any new requirements or specific...more
On February 25, 2021, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced an extension of the moratoriums on Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae single-family loan foreclosures and real estate owned (REO) evictions until June 30,...more
3/3/2021
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Eviction ,
Fannie Mae ,
FHFA ,
Forbearance Agreements ,
Foreclosure ,
Freddie Mac ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Moratorium ,
Mortgages ,
Relief Measures
On February 16, 2021, President Biden announced an extension of the foreclosure moratorium and the availability of forbearance relief for Federal Housing Administration (FHA), U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and U.S....more
On June 29, 2020, the Supreme Court resolved the ongoing dispute regarding the structure of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) in Seila Law LLC v. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, 591 U.S. – (2020). In a 5-4...more
On June 23, 2020, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued an interim final rule permitting mortgage servicers to offer certain loss mitigation options based on the evaluation of an incomplete loss mitigation...more
On June 16, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued a compliance guide clarifying the credit reporting protections provided by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act....more
On June 2, 2020, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) provided additional guidance to remittance transfer providers regarding the Remittance Rule, subpart of Regulation E....more
On June 17, 2020, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced an extension of its eviction and foreclosure moratorium due to the COVID-19 pandemic until August 31, 2020. This is an extension of FHFA’s May 14 and March...more
6/20/2020
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Eviction ,
Financial Distress ,
Foreclosure ,
Landlords ,
Moratorium ,
Mortgagee ,
Mortgages ,
Relief Measures ,
Rent ,
Rental Property ,
State of Emergency ,
Tenants
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Conference State Bank Supervisors issued joint guidance to mortgage servicers clarifying the forbearance provision of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES)...more