Please join Troutman Pepper Partner Chris Willis and his colleague Consumer Financial Services Partner Lori Sommerfield as they discuss the implications of the recent Illinois federal court decision, dismissing the CFPB’s first-ever redlining case against Townstone Financial, Inc., which alleged that Townstone engaged in redlining practices by discouraging applications under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) through its marketing approach. The court found that ECOA does not extend to prospective applicants.

On February 27, Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon signed into law House Bill 284, which requires debt buyers be licensed as “collection agencies” starting July 1, 2023.

The bill was introduced at the request of the Receivables Management Association International (RMAI) to address an emerging debate as to whether debt buyers should have been licensed…

As reported here, on September 9, 2022, the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (CA DFPI) published a notice of rulemaking action, proposing amendments to the Student Loan Servicing Act.

The proposed rules clarify that all education financing products, including income share agreements (ISAs) and installment contracts, are student loans, and servicers of…

The Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians (Lac du Flambeau Band) found support from law professors specializing in federal Indian law as well as an assemblage of tribes and Native American groups in its bid before the U.S. Supreme Court to assert sovereign immunity from suit regarding alleged violations of the automatic…

A district court in the Northern District of California recently denied in part a motion for judgment on the pleadings in a case alleging violations of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), and California’s Rosenthal Act involving collection texts sent to a consumer.

In Ronald Cupp v. First National …

On March 1, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued an issue spotlight highlighting concerns about prepaid card programs for accessing public assistance benefits. In particular, the spotlight notes “specific recurring issues” related to cash assistance benefits including Social Security, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), and unemployment benefits that are provided on prepaid cards.

On February 28, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced its sixth redlining settlement under its Combatting Redlining Initiative. This most recent case involves an agreement between the DOJ and Ohio-based Park National Bank to resolve allegations that the bank failed to provide mortgage loans by redlining majority-Black and Hispanic neighborhoods in the Columbus, Ohio…

As we reported here, late last year, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) signaled that it planned to increase scrutiny of the Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) industry and issued its first report about BNPL. Yesterday, the CFPB issued a report exploring the financial profiles of BNPL borrowers. According to the CFPB, on average,…