On April 13, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced a new interpretive rule that makes it possible for consumers to receive certain pandemic-relief payments through newly-issued prepaid accounts rather than paper checks. According to CFPB Director Kathleen Kraninger, the interpretive rule is designed to “ensure that consumers can receive these payments in a fast, secure,
One day after Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam imposed a state-wide stay-at-home order, the Supreme Court of Virginia extended the ongoing judicial emergency by 20 days, to run through April 26, 2020.
On March 16, the Chief Justice declared a judicial emergency, effective through April 5, “to protect the health and safety of court employees,
On March 26, federal regulators advised financial institutions to consider providing small-dollar loans to cash-strapped consumers during the coronavirus (“COVID-19”) pandemic. Although the guidance encouraged “responsible” lending that is “consistent with sage and sound banking practices and applicable laws, including consumer protection laws,” the joint-agency statement has been criticized by some consumer
On March 22, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (“FRB”), Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, National Credit Union Administration, Office of Comptroller of the Currency, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and the Conference of State Bank Supervisors (collectively, “the Agencies”) issued an interagency statement, available here, providing guidance for lenders on how to
In a split decision published on March 9, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held in McAdory v M.N.S. & Associates, LLC and DNF Associates LLC that “an entity that otherwise meets the ‘principal purpose’ definition of debt collector under [under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act] cannot avoid liability merely