As part of its ongoing initiative to scrutinize so-called “junk fees,” the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) published guidance on two practices that it opines potentially violate the Consumer Financial Protection Act’s prohibition on unfair practices. Specifically, the CFPB published a compliance bulletin, cautioning against charging across-the-board depositor fees to consumers who deposit a
Unsurprisingly, defendants in two separate enforcements actions filed by the Consumer Financial Protection Agency (CFPB) have cited the Fifth Circuit’s recent decision in Community Financial Services Association of America, Ltd. v. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau as a basis for having their actions dismissed. As we discussed here, earlier this month, the Fifth Circuit held
Pursuant to its authority under Section 1022(b)(1) of the Dodd-Frank Act, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued an advisory opinion to consumer reporting agencies (CRAs), highlighting their obligation to screen for and eliminate obviously false data from consumers’ credit reports. Specifically, CRAs were instructed to implement policies, procedures, and systems to screen for and
At the Money 20/20 fintech conference, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Director Rohit Chopra announced his intent to move forward with the CFPB’s rulemaking under Section 1033 of the Consumer Financial Protection Act as part of the financial services industry’s movement toward “open banking,” a concept that involves the use of APIs that provide direct
After a years-long effort, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) has announced the approval of both the FICO 10T and the VantageScore 4.0 credit score models for use by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (Enterprises). The FHFA expects the transition to the two-score model to take multiple years to implement, which will require both scores
On October 6, the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) announced a consent order with Rhinebeck Bank (Rhinebeck) to resolve allegations that, in violation of New York Executive Law Section 296-a, the bank instituted discretionary dealer markup policies that resulted in a disparate impact that negatively affected members of minority groups.
In addition
To help you keep abreast of relevant activities, below find a breakdown of some of the biggest events at the federal and state levels to impact the Consumer Finance Services industry this past week:
On October 17, a U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington issued an order and judgment, ending two related putative class actions alleging tech companies violated Illinois’ Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) by using datasets containing geometric scans of their faces without their permission. The court granted summary judgment in favor of
On October 18, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) filed a complaint in a Texas federal court against Active Network LLC (Active) for allegedly tricking people, when trying to sign up for a fundraising race or other community event, into subscribing to its discount club Active Advantage.
Specifically, the complaint alleges Active inserted a webpage
On October 20, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, seeking public comment on the harms stemming from what it characterizes as “junk fees,” i.e., fees that are allegedly unnecessary, unavoidable, or unexpected, and that inflate costs while adding little value. The term also encompasses “hidden fees,” which are fees