Like most industries today, Consumer Financial Services businesses are being significantly impacted by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). Troutman Sanders and Pepper Hamilton have developed a dedicated COVID-19 Resource Center to guide clients through this unprecedented global health challenge. We regularly update this site with COVID-19 news and developments, recommendations from leading health organizations, and tools
Notice to Employers: Remember Privacy Basics When Addressing COVID-19
As the coronavirus (“COVID-19”) continues to spread, businesses are pushed to make swift decisions that impact not only business operations, but also the privacy and security of employees’ personal information. In times like these, the Fair Information Practice Principles (“FIPPs”) should be every organization’s guiding light.
The FIPPs are principles that address the privacy of
COVID-19 Warrants Modified Cybersecurity for Work-At-Home
Many privacy and data protection statutes require businesses to implement “reasonable security procedures” to protect personal information. See, e.g., Cal. Civ. Code § 1798.81.5 (requiring businesses that own, license, or maintain personal information about a California resident to implement and maintain reasonable security procedures and practices appropriate to the nature of the information).
New York Announces Deferment of Mortgage Payments, Moratorium on Evictions
On March 19, 2020, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced a series of measures designed to ease the economic impact of COVID-19. Most notably to the consumer financial services industry, Cuomo announced that New York would “offer 90-day relief on mortgage payments. Waiving mortgage payments based on financial hardship.” He also said the state would
Senate Bill Introduced To Amend the FCRA To Prohibit Negative Credit Reporting During COVID-19 Crisis
On March 17, a bill was introduced in the United States Senate to amend the Fair Credit Reporting Act to prohibit negative credit reporting during the coronavirus health crisis. The bill, S.3508, is entitled The Disaster Protection for Workers’ Credit Act. It would provide for a four-month moratorium on negative credit reporting and a
CFPB Requires Employees To Telework in Wake of COVID-19 Pandemic
On March 17, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ordered all employees – not just those in the most affected regions – to begin working from home given the rapid spread of the coronavirus (“COVID-19”). CFPB Director Kathleen Kraninger sent an email to all CFPB employees in the evening of March 17 stating that a prior
Prudential Regulators Provide New Banking Guidance Amid COVID-19
Certain government regulatory bodies have produced new guidance for financial institutions in light of the coronavirus (“COVID-19”) pandemic. The Federal Reserve Board, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, National Credit Union Administration, and the Conference of State Bank Supervisors (known as the “Prudential Regulators”) have encouraged
Ninth Circuit Sides with Third Circuit in Adopting Broad Interpretation of “Debt Collector” Under the FDCPA, Holding That Debt Purchasing Company Cannot Evade Liability by Hiring Third-Party Collector
In a split decision published on March 9, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held in McAdory v M.N.S. & Associates, LLC and DNF Associates LLC that “an entity that otherwise meets the ‘principal purpose’ definition of debt collector under [under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act] cannot avoid liability merely
Fifth Circuit Rejects Texas Mortgagor’s Foreclosure Challenge Based on Claim That “Back-Dated” Notice of Default Contained an Incorrect Deadline to Cure Default
In a recent ruling favorable to lenders and mortgage loan servicers, the Fifth Circuit of the United States Court of Appeals held that minor, inconsequential discrepancies in a pre-foreclosure notice of default (also sometimes called a “cure notice” or “pre-acceleration notice”) are insufficient grounds for setting aside a foreclosure sale in Texas.
Borrower-plaintiff Guilherme Casalicchio’s
Financial Agencies Urged To Halt All Non-COVID-19 Rulemakings
Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), ranking member of the Senate Banking Committee, and Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), chair of the House Financial Services Committee, have called for a pause in rulemakings from federal regulators unless they are designed to help during the coronavirus (“COVID-19”) outbreak.
Sen. Brown wants focus placed on “providing reliable guidance and responding