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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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As recently discussed on our podcast here, section 1071 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 (Dodd-Frank Act) amended the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) to require lenders to collect information about small business credit applications they receive, including geographic and demographic data concerning the principal owners, lending decisions, and the price of credit. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) issued its proposed rule in 2021, and after considering the over 2,500 comments it received, on March 30, 2023, the CFPB issued the massive, highly technical, and complicated Final Rule. The Final Rule and its accompanying discussion and analysis, as well as the Official Commentary totals 888 pages exclusive of the 123-page Filing Instruction Guide and numerous other documents released by the Bureau. In this first in a multi-post blog series, we will provide a high-level overview of the Final Rule.

Please join Troutman Pepper Partner Chris Willis and his colleagues Stefanie Jackman, Caleb Rosenberg, and Chris Capurso for the second installment of our special two-part series about the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) recent policy statement on abusiveness. In Part 2, the panel discusses specific examples cited in the policy statement, as well as lessons learned about what constitutes abusiveness and what doesn’t from the CFPB’s perspective.

Financial services companies are using AI to assist with many business processes, including underwriting decisions, consumer credit approval, servicing and collections, loss mitigation programs, customer interaction on websites and mobile apps via chatbots, and in detecting fraud. In this fourth episode, Stephen Piepgrass and colleagues Chris Willis and Michael Yaghi examine the use and impact of AI in the financial services industry. They discuss the potential risks financial services companies may face with increased reliance on AI, as well as the increased focus on AI by various regulators and state attorneys general.

As discussed here, on March 30, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued its final rule under Section 1071 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Final Rule). Section 1071 amended the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) to impose significant data collection and reporting requirements on small business creditors. On May 12, the CFPB issued a Small Entity Compliance Guide that includes a detailed summary of the Final Rule’s requirements and examples to illustrate some key portions of the Final Rule. For example, illustrations include what constitutes covered originations, what date should be reported for an application, and how a covered entity is to report a response to whether the applicant is a women-owned, minority-owned, and/or LGBTQI+ business if the applicant refuses to respond.

Please join Troutman Pepper Partner Chris Willis and his colleagues Lori Sommerfield and Caleb Rosenberg for the second installment of a special three-part series about the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) new small business lending data collection and reporting final rule — the Section 1071 rule. Part 2 takes a deeper dive into the rule’s data collection requirements, including what needs to be collected, when and how, and significant new provisions, dealing with discouraging people from responding to Section 1071 information requests, particularly concerning demographic information.

Please join Troutman Pepper Partners Chris Willis and Kim Phan for an in-depth discussion about the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC’s) recent record retention enforcement actions. Chris and Kim explore the uptick in enforcement actions over the last year, the claims made in these cases, the SEC-imposed requirements and penalties on these companies, what we can expect going forward from the financial services regulators, and what financial institutions should do now to get ahead of these types of enforcement actions.

Citing research that found about half of U.S. adults find it difficult to afford the cost of their healthcare, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) published a report focusing on medical credit cards and loans used to cover basic medical treatment and emergency health care. According to the CFPB, the use of medical…

Please join Troutman Pepper Partner Chris Willis and his colleagues Alan Wingfield, James Kim, and Taylor Gess for the first installment of a special two-part series about the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) recent policy statement on abusiveness. In Part 1 the panel discusses the background of the policy statement, the definition of abusiveness, when it exists and when it doesn’t, and practical considerations for compliance.

Please join Troutman Pepper Partner Chris Willis and his colleagues Lori Sommerfield, Addison Morgan, and Josh McBeain for the first installment of a special three-part series about the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) new small business lending data collection and reporting final rule — the Section 1071 rule. Part 1 of this special series provides a general overview of the rule, including: