At a recent hearing before the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, Melvin Watt, Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, remarked that he did not see an immediate end to the federal government’s conservatorship of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. In 2008, both government-sponsored enterprises were placed into conservatorship by the federal government
FHFA to Issue Risk Management Guidance for Nonbank Mortgage Servicers Today
Today is the deadline when the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) is scheduled to unveil its risk management guidance intended to curb financial and operational risks associated with loan servicing by nonbank entities.
The backdrop for FHFA’s initiative is the fact that the nation’s three largest nonbank mortgage servicers have tripled in size since 2012,
Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals Holds Foreclosure Trustee Not Liable for Alleged Breach of Fiduciary Duties to Plaintiff Borrowers
On November 19, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit affirmed dismissal of plaintiff borrowers’ claims against a foreclosure trustee and held that the trustee did not breach fiduciary duties by proceeding to foreclosure over borrowers’ objections.
The case centered on an oft-repeated scenario in which plaintiff borrowers were discussing a potential
Court Dismisses FCRA Claim Regarding Employment Background Screening Notices and Provides Commentary on Structure and Requirements of FCRA Provision
In recommending that the district court grant the defendant’s motion to dismiss, a magistrate judge in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia recently addressed the contours of 15 U.S.C. § 1681k(a) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act in a way that affirms the disjunctive nature of that statutory provision, and
FTC Issues New Bulletin Regarding Employment Background Screening Regulations
In March 2014, the Federal Trade Commission issued a bulletin entitled Background Checks: What Job Applicants and Employees Should Know, which set forth and summarized a number of the laws and regulations on the use of employment background checks, both prior to and subsequent to hiring.
In November, the FTC issued a second such
State AGs Urge CFPB to Take Immediate Action to Crack Down on Consumer Arbitration Clauses
A group of 16 state attorneys general recently wrote Richard Cordray, head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, a letter encouraging the CFPB to take immediate action to crack down on pre-dispute mandatory arbitration clauses in consumer agreements for financial products or services. Specifically, while acknowledging that additional actions may be necessary to “fully address
Study by Consumer Credit Group Takes Issue with CFPB Method of Finding Auto Lending Bias
The American Financial Services Association (AFSA), a consumer credit industry trade association, released a study this month that took issue with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s method of measuring discrimination in the automotive lending business.
The study, which was carried out by Charles River Associates and based on over eight million vehicle finance contracts issued
State AGs Call on FTC to Update Telemarketing Sales Rules
Thirty-eight state and territorial attorneys general recently sent a letter to the Federal Trade Commission requesting that it update its Telemarketing Sales Rules to help further protect against telemarketing fraud and abuse.
While the state attorneys general support existing Telemarketing Sales Rules, the group listed a number of concerns, including:
- An increase in the number
Prosecutors Charge Georgia Debt Collector with Illegal Collection Practices
The United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York this month brought criminal charges against Williams Scott & Associates LLC and seven of its employees for allegedly engaging in illegal practices to collect more than $4 million from 6,000 victims across the country.
The charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud followed a
CFPB Delays Proposed Rulemakings on Overdraft, Payday Lending, and Debt Collection Until 2015
On November 25, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced that it plans to push back three key rulemakings until next year. These rulemakings center on overdraft protection, payday lending, and debt collection. The agenda released by the CFPB stated that it would issue proposals on these issues in the first seven months of 2015. This