Photo of Chris Willis

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.

Bankers are gearing up to oppose an effort by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) to prevent an increase in allowable late charges for credit cards. In letters dated August 1, the American Bankers Association, Consumer Bankers Association, Credit Union National Association, and National Association of Federally‐Insured Credit Unions (Associations), as well

Please join Consumer Financial Services Partner Chris Willis and his guest and fellow Partner Tony Kaye for this latest podcast episode as they discuss the Military Lending Act and the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, including the differences between the two, their state analogues, and several key issues in the consumer finance industry surrounding servicemembers.

Please join Consumer Financial Services Partner Chris Willis and his guests and colleagues Dave Gettings and Mary Kate Kamka as they discuss recent trends in class-action consumer finance litigation, including:

  • The long-term impact of Spokeo and Ramirez;
  • Key considerations in discovery;
  • When it’s appropriate to move to strike class allegations; and
  • How to structure a class settlement.

The Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (CFPB) ordered Hyundai Capital America (Hyundai) to pay $19.2 million for allegedly providing inaccurate information to consumer reporting agencies, including, the CFPB alleged, wrongly reporting that consumers were delinquent on loans and leases, in violation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA).

In its press release, the CFPB

Please join Consumer Financial Services Partner Chris Willis and his guests and colleagues Stefanie Jackman and Sarah Reise as they discuss the intersection of fair lending with collections. They cover which types of third-party debt collection processes could be subject to a fair lending review, the difference between disparate treatment and disparate impact, how the CFPB may review collection-related decisions, what a basic fair lending analysis may look like for collectors, the processes likely to be targeted for a fair lending review, and what collectors can do now to update their compliance management system and assess their operations to identify and mitigate potential fair lending issues.

On July 19, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA or the Agency) announced the establishment of the Office of Financial Technology to serve as a source of information, Agency support in addressing emerging risks, and avenue to advance Agency priorities as to the adoption and deployment of financial technology (fintech). At the same time, the

As peer-to-peer money transfer services (or cash apps) become more popular, there has been an increase in the number of scams enticing consumers to transfer funds to fraudsters. The law currently provides that the banks that own the cash apps are only required to reimburse transactions not authorized by the customer — meaning if a

Please join Troutman Pepper Partner Chris Willis and his guests and colleagues Alan Wingfield and Noah DiPasquale as they discuss the recent advisory opinion from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on name-only matching under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). Highlights include how the opinion was adopted, challenges furnishers and users will face in light of this opinion, and the potential impact for the credit reporting industry moving forward.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) agreed to a March 31, 2023 deadline to issue a final rule under Section 1071 of Dodd-Frank. Section 1071 amended the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) to impose significant data collection requirements on small business creditors. The CFPB accepted the deadline as part of a previously agreed litigation settlement regarding alleged delays in the rulemaking process. The court accepted the deadline and maintained jurisdiction over the matter to oversee compliance with the settlement and to address any potential requests for modification.

Please join Troutman Pepper Partner Chris Willis and his guests and fellow Partners Keith Barnett and Ethan Ostroff as they discuss the recent request for comment from California’s Department of Financial Protection and Innovation on cryptocurrency-related financial products and services under the California Consumer Financial Protection Law. Keith and Ethan share their ideas about what this request for comment says about the direction California may take in the world of cryptocurrency.