On December 16, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) released a special edition of its Supervisory Highlights, detailing a range of activities identified by CFPB examiners across the student loan origination and servicing markets. According to the Bureau, student loans represent the second-largest form of U.S. consumer debt at more than $1.7 trillion in total outstanding balances. The Bureau has been heavily focused on student lending issues for the past several years, and this latest special edition of Supervisory Highlights underlines that focus.

On December 12, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) announced the finalization of its rule addressing overdraft fees. The rule targets financial institutions with more than $10 billion in assets, imposing new restrictions and requirements on how these institutions manage and charge for overdraft services. However, with the upcoming change in administration, questions remain as to whether the final rule will ever take effect.

On December 9, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) announced the launch of a rulemaking process addressing credit reporting on survivors of domestic violence, elder abuse, and other forms of financial abuse.

According to a recent report by WebRecon, court filings under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), and Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), and complaints filed with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) were up for the month. Year-to-date everything is up compared to 2023.

According to a recent report by WebRecon, court filings under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), and Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) were down for the month. Yet, complaints filed with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) were up. Year-to-date everything is up compared to 2023. CFPB complaints are up by a whooping 110.6%!

On December 10, the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) issued a letter to all federally insured credit unions, highlighting the risks associated with certain overdraft and non-sufficient funds (NSF) fee practices. The letter emphasizes the potential harm to consumers and the heightened risks to credit unions, including reputational, consumer compliance, third-party, and litigation risks, resulting

On December 10, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that it is distributing more than $540,000 in refunds to victims of an abusive debt collector group. The debt collectors allegedly threatened consumers with lawsuits or arrest for debts that they might not have even owed.

On December 6, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) announced an order asserting supervisory authority over Google Payment Corp. (GPC), a subsidiary of Google LLC. This decision was based on alleged “risks to consumers” associated with GPC’s retired peer-to-peer (P2P) payment product. The CFPB’s order, however, does not assert that GPC violated any laws or engaged in wrongdoing. Instead, it relies on a relatively small number of unverified consumer complaints to justify future examinations, even though GPC stopped offering the product.