Congress enacted the TCPA in 1991 to address the proliferation of unwanted telephone solicitations. The statute defines “telephone solicitation” as “the initiation of a telephone call or message for the purpose of encouraging the purchase or rental of, or investment in, property, goods, or services.” 47 U.S.C. § 227(a)(4) (emphasis added).
To keep you informed of recent activities, below are several of the most significant federal events that have influenced the Consumer Financial Services industry over the past week.
On July 8, the New Jersey Supreme Court issued a unanimous opinion in Diana, delivering a decisive and long-awaited victory for debt buyers operating in New Jersey. The court’s ruling — affirming the dismissal of a putative class action brought by a borrower seeking to void his credit card debt — definitively closes the door on a theory of liability that has dogged the debt-buying industry in New Jersey for years.
After years of pandemic-era forbearance programs, emergency moratoriums, and historically low foreclosure volumes, the mortgage market is undergoing a meaningful correction. Foreclosure activity is rising steadily across the country, and with it comes a familiar set of legal risks for servicers, lenders, and investors. The question is no longer whether foreclosure volumes will normalize — it is whether organizations are prepared for the compliance and litigation exposure that follows.
Statistics for May 2026 consumer litigation filings are in, and the picture is essentially the reverse of April. After all three major consumer protection statutes posted month-over-month increases in April, the first time that had happened in over a year, all three declined in May.
To keep you informed of recent activities, below are several of the most significant federal events that have influenced the Consumer Financial Services industry over the past week.
On July 2, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
On June 25, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit issued a decision affirming summary judgment in favor of a consumer reporting agency (CRA) that allegedly issued an inaccurate consumer report by inadvertently including the subject’s twin brother’s speeding ticket in the background check report. The decision provides useful guidance on the standard for “reasonable procedures to assure maximum possible accuracy” under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and the circumstances under which a CRA may rely on official court records without further investigation.
On July 1, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) published a proposed policy statement addressing whether AI companies that steer their systems’ outputs toward undisclosed ideological objectives, rather than toward the objectives that consumers request or reasonably expect, may be engaging in deceptive acts or practices in violation of § 5 of the FTC Act. The public comment period closes July 31, 2026.
The Consumer Data Industry Association (CDIA) and the Metro 2 Task Force announced that they have approved a new Special Comment Code, DS — Debt Settlement, in response to industry requests for clearer identification of consumer debt settlement activity in credit reporting. An implementation date has not yet been established, but CDIA anticipates that furnishers will be able to begin reporting the DS code in Q2 2027.
On June 25, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) issued a notice of proposed rulemaking that would significantly update and clarify its regulations governing the disclosure of confidential information, including confidential supervisory information. This is the first substantial revision to these rules in approximately 30 years. The proposal would amend 12 CFR Part 309 and add a new Part 306, with changes designed to reduce administrative burden, expand the ability of insured depository institutions (IDIs) to share confidential supervisory information without prior FDIC approval, and modernize and clarify the FDIC’s information disclosure framework. Comments on the proposed rule are due 60 days after publication in the Federal Register.