On July 23, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau published in the Federal Register a proposed policy statement that is expected to expand the type of data disclosed in its consumer complaint database to include unstructured consumer complaint narrative data. The CFPB extended the comment period to September 22 to permit additional time for the submission
On September 24, U.S. District Judge James S. Moody, Jr., of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, issued a preliminary injunction against several law firms accused by the attorneys general of Connecticut and Florida of charging illegal upfront fees to distressed homeowners in a mortgage rescue scam.
Judge Moody agreed that
On August 12, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued an order related to the advertising of mortgage rates that may provide valuable insight into the CFPB’s broader perspective on what constitutes misleading statements in advertising and publishing of rates.
The CFPB accused Amerisave Mortgage Corporation (“Amerisave”), its affiliate company Novo Appraisal Management Company (“Novo”), and
On January 2, 2014, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals found that the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act prohibits collection agencies from charging consumers a percentage fee of the balance of their debt unless the consumer has explicitly agreed to such a fee arrangement. In Bradley v. Franklin Collection Services, Inc., a unanimous
The Federal Reserve recently published its quarterly “Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey on Bank Lending Practices,” based on a survey of large domestic and foreign banks. The survey suggested that the implementation of Ability-to-Repay and Qualified Mortgage rule has resulted in lenders making fewer loans. Under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer
The CFPB posted Regulation Z, which implements the Truth in Lending Act, on its eRegulations platform. The posting brings together all materials related to the regulation on a single website. Users of eRegulations can view the currently effective regulation text, search past and present versions of regulations, compare two versions of the regulation,
On February 4, 2014, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reversed the decision of the district court, which had previously dismissed a lawsuit under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) due to the plaintiff’s lack of Article III standing. If adopted more widely, the Ninth Circuit’s decision could create an additional
Most of the CFPB’s new mortgage rules take effect today, January 10, 2014. The CFPB has rejected congressional and financial industry’s repeated calls for a one-year mortgage regulation delay. However, Director Cordray expressed that, at least in the early days, the CFPB’s examiners will not be looking for compliance perfection but for a good faith
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) released a new rule on November 20, 2013, requiring simpler and more streamlined “Know Before You Owe” mortgage disclosure forms. The streamlined forms are designed to facilitate comparison shopping by consumers, to provide a more informed understanding of the fees and monthly payments associated with a potential loan, and
On the heels of the release of the final amendments to its new mortgage rules, the CFPB issued a bulletin and interim final rule giving mortgage servicers additional guidance about mortgage servicing rules that will take effect in January 2014. The CFPB’s latest guidance addresses, among other things, communications with family members after a borrower