On April 23, the Federal Trade Commission and the Office of the New York Attorney General announced they will host a “dialogue” to discuss consumer protection issues with the debt collection industry, including recent enforcement actions, consumer complaints about debt collection practices, and compliance issues.
The first “Debt Collection Dialogue” in Buffalo, New York will
On April 22, the House of Representatives passed a bill requiring the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to solicit input from several advisory boards and to cap the CFPB’s future funding.
H.R. 1195, the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection Advisory Boards Act, was adopted in a 235-183 vote, after a House committee earlier adopted
On April 15, the House Energy and Commerce Committee approved the Data Security and Breach Notification Act by a 29-20 vote. The bill, H.R. 1770: The Data Security and Breach Notification Act of 2015, was initially backed by Rep. Peter Welch (D-VT) and Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) but passed along party lines.
The legislation
The nation’s three leading Credit Reporting Agencies (“CRAs”) – Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion – announced on March 9 a National Consumer Assistance Plan that will enhance their ability to collect consumer information that is as complete and accurate as possible and will provide consumers more transparency and a better experience interacting with CRAs about their
On February 27, the White House proposed a bill that would provide consumers with a “Privacy Bill of Rights” as well as provide an enforcement mechanism for data breach enforcement actions by the FTC and state attorneys general. The language used is similar to a proposal by the administration in 2012 which failed to gain
On February 12, Representative Steve Stivers (R-Ohio) reintroduced bi-partisan legislation that would require the Senate to confirm an independent inspector general for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, arguing it would provide greater oversight.
The Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection-Inspector General Act of 2015 (H.R. 957) is co-sponsored by Tim Walz (D-Minn.), Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-Mo.), and
On February 5, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan testified before the U.S. Senate, calling on Congress to enact a strong, meaningful federal data breach notification law, while at the same time lobbying Congress to avoid preempting states from enforcing their own data protection laws.
Before the Senate’s Subcommittee on Commerce, Science and Transportation in a
Last week, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced four appointments to its leadership team.
In addition to naming Anthony Alexis as assistant director of enforcement, the CFPB also announced the hiring of Leandra English as deputy chief operating officer, Agnes Bundy Scanlan as the regional director of supervision examination, and Jeffrey Sumberg as chief
On January 16, the CFPB announced it is accepting applications for membership on the Consumer Advisory Board (CAB), Community Bank Advisory Council, and Credit Union Advisory Council.
Members of the CAB and the Advisory Councils include representatives of consumers, communities, and the financial services industry, as well as academics. Membership on the CAB lasts three
On January 15, 2015, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman announced that he would be proposing legislation to overhaul New York’s data security law and require new and unprecedented safeguards for personal data of consumers. While the proposal has yet to be released, the Attorney General’s press release indicates that the proposal will include a