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Chris Willis

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Chris is the co-leader of the Consumer Financial Services Regulatory practice at the firm. He advises financial services institutions facing state and federal government investigations and examinations, counseling them on compliance issues including UDAP/UDAAP, credit reporting, debt collection, and fair lending, and defending them in individual and class action lawsuits brought by consumers and enforcement actions brought by government agencies.

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In the last three weeks, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) reached two more settlements with lenders under its Combatting Redlining Initiative, which began in October 2021. On September 27, the DOJ announced that Washington Trust Company agreed to pay $9 million to resolve allegations that it engaged in redlining majority-Black and Hispanic neighborhoods in Rhode Island. On October 19, the DOJ announced a separate $9 million agreement with Ameris Bank to resolve allegations that it engaged in redlining predominately Black and Hispanic neighborhoods in Jacksonville, Florida. And, according to Attorney General Merrick Garland, this is just the beginning. “[T]he Justice Department currently has over two dozen active investigations into redlining, spanning neighborhoods across the country.”

Join Troutman Pepper Partners Chris Willis, Mary Zinsner, and Dave Gettings for an in-depth discussion about litigating elder financial exploitation cases. Elder abuse and financial exploitation of the elderly are increasing problems in our society, and financial institutions are right in the thick of it. Chris, Mary, and Dave discuss trends in elder fraud litigation, offering insights on the common themes and defenses that financial institutions have in these cases.

On October 12, in its monthly bulletin the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (CA DFPI) announced that final regulations to implement the Student Loan Servicing Act and the Student Loans Borrower Rights Law have been approved and will become effective Jan. 1, 2024. Among other things, the rules clarify that all education financing products, including income share agreements (ISAs) and installment contracts, are student loans, and servicers of all such products are covered by the Student Loan Servicing Act and must be licensed.

On October 11, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) issued an advisory opinion regarding § 1034(c) of the Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA), which requires large banks and credit unions to comply in a timely manner with consumer requests for information concerning their accounts. This advisory opinion follows a June 2022 request for information where the CFPB asked for public input on customer service obstacles encountered when interacting with large financial institutions. According to the CFPB, this initiative is in response to large financial institutions moving away from “relationship banking.”

Yesterday, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) (collectively, the agencies) issued a joint statement on the subject of creditors’ use of immigration status for eligibility for credit transactions, an issue that has been kicking around in private litigation for years, but as to which the federal regulators have been silent. The joint statement warns lenders that “unnecessary or overbroad” reliance on immigration status in the credit decisioning process may violate the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) and other federal laws. According to the agencies, the joint statement was issued in response to consumers reportedly being rejected for credit cards and loans because of their immigration status, even when they have strong credit histories and are otherwise qualified to receive the loans.

On October 11, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) published a special edition of its Supervisory Highlights report. This report serves as a “victory lap” for the Bureau, which highlights the relief it has obtained for consumers since the release of its March 2023 Special Fees Edition, discussed here. According to the Bureau, its supervisory efforts have led to institutions refunding over $140 million to consumers, including $120 million in overdraft and non-sufficient funds (NSF) fees.

Join Troutman Pepper Partners Chris Willis and Sheri Adler as they dive into the new requirement for publicly traded companies (including financial services companies) to adopt a clawback policy requiring the recoupment of erroneously awarded incentive compensation by December 1, 2023. Chris and Sheri discuss many facets of the rules and what steps companies can take to ensure compliance, including:

Join Troutman Pepper Partner Chris Willis and fellow Partner Matthew Orso as they discuss the Bank Secrecy Act, anti-money laundering, and countering the financing of terrorism rules, as they pertain to financial institutions defined by FinCEN. The discussion includes topics such as which companies are subject to the rules, compliance issues financial institutions may face, and what financial institutions can do to avoid potential issues.

On October 3, the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments in Community Financial Services Association of America, Limited (CFSA) v. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau), a case in which the Fifth Circuit held that the CFPB’s funding mechanism violates the Appropriations Clause because the CFPB does not receive its funding from annual congressional appropriations like most executive agencies, but instead, receives funding directly from the Federal Reserve based on a request by the CFPB’s director. If the Supreme Court affirms the Fifth Circuit’s decision, the future of the Bureau as well as its rulemaking and enforcement actions would be in question.

As discussed here, on September 21 the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) released an outline of its plans for rulemaking under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). The outline was supplied for initial comment to a panel of small business representatives convened under the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act (SBREFA).