The Financial Institutions Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has made its arbitration statistics for the year 2021, through May 31, available on its website. Overall, FINRA experienced an intriguing 19% decline in the number of overall arbitrations commenced through May 31, 2021 versus May 31, 2020. In particular, customer/investor claims declined a modest 2%, while intra-industry arbitrations,
2020 was a transformative year for the consumer financial services world. As we navigate an unprecedented volume of industry regulation, Troutman Pepper is uniquely positioned to help its clients find successful resolutions and stay ahead of the compliance curve.
In this report, we share developments in 2020 on consumer class actions, background screening, bankruptcy,
In a putative class action, Santoro v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co., 2020 WL 6586630, 19-CV-9782 (CS) (S.D.N.Y. Nov. 9, 2020), District Court Judge Cathy Seibel dismissed the plaintiff’s complaint under Rule 12(b)(6) for failure to state a violation of New York General Business Law (“GBL”) § 399-zzz, which is enforceable through GBL
New York Attorney General Letitia James and Governor Andrew Cuomo announced on November 4, 2020, that the State will continue the suspension of its debt collection efforts of medical and student debt through the remainder of the calendar year. The suspension, which was originally instituted during March 2020 as part of the state’s response to
As New York considers reopening the State’s economy after a months-long shutdown, legislators recently reached an agreement with private student loan servicers to provide financial relief to borrowers. Spearheaded by the New York State Department of Financial Services (“DFS”), the agreement supplements the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (“CARES Act”), by extending
New York’s legislature granted final approval last Thursday to Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s proposed 2021 Executive Budget, ending a months-long policy battle to focus instead on the ongoing war with the coronavirus (“COVID-19”). The approved budget, however, is substantially different than the one originally proffered by Gov. Cuomo on January 21, 2020. As New
On April 3, New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo signed the State’s 2021 Executive Budget into law, which includes a provision shortening the time period for a lawsuit to be filed on medical debt to three years. Although budgetary constraints caused by the coronavirus (“COVID-19”) pandemic have forced the State to scrap
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority has proposed new legislation aimed at curtailing the growing problem of unpaid arbitration awards, particularly those against brokerage firms that either become inactive or declare bankruptcy. According to FINRA, most unpaid customer arbitration awards are rendered against inactive brokerage firms or individual brokers, meaning those whose registration has been terminated
Massachusetts is proposing a bill to regulate student loan servicers and bring the Commonwealth in line with other states, including Connecticut, Colorado, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, and Washington, all of which have passed new legislation to regulate the student loan industry. Similar legislation recently has been introduced, but not
Effective October 16, the New York State Department of Financial Services adopted final regulations impacting student loan servicers operating in the state. The legislation, titled Article 14-A, passed in April 2019 and imposes new licensing requirements and servicing standards on institutions that service loans for borrowers residing in New York. The new regulations will affect