One of the most controversial and significant federal regulatory initiatives in consumer finance is the view of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau that credit discrimination can be proven by statistical disparities.
We previously reported here on the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to hear a disparate impact case in Texas Department of Housing & Community Affairs
On November 14, Maine’s Attorney General Janet T. Mills issued a warning to the state’s residents regarding calls from “scammers” demanding immediate payment on supposed debts. Mills’ warning stemmed from many recent reports to her office of aggressive calls from “scammers” attempting to get consumers to make payments by wire transfer or pre-paid debit card.
On November 13, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Richard Cordray delivered prepared remarks regarding electronic funds transfers (EFTs). Although Cordray noted the benefits of EFTs to consumers, he cautioned that the potential for abuse necessitates aggressive policing of the industry.
According to the CFPB, the nationwide system for EFTs allows consumers to receive their paychecks,
Earlier this month, the Department of Housing and Urban Development announced a revision to its definition for FHA-insured Qualified Mortgages (QMs) that applies to Section 501(c)(3) nonprofits that originate and service mortgages. However, HUD decided it would not adopt the CFPB’s post-consummation QM limited cure mechanism, which we discussed here, for purposes of HUD’s
In October, the CFPB issued a final rule amending the 2013 mortgage rules that took effect in January 2014, including a post-consummation points and fees cure mechanism for qualified mortgage loans, which became effective on November 3, when it was published in the Federal Register.
These new amendments to the mortgage rules include:
Following lawsuits filed against it this month by the Federal Trade Commission and Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, Consumer Collection Advocates Corp. (CCA) and its principal agreed to suspend operations in Florida, pending the outcome of the litigation.
According to the complaints by the FTC and the Florida Attorney General, CCA contracted with fraud
An $8 million settlement announced November 19, 2014, between the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and the nation’s largest “buy here pay here” auto dealer represents yet another warning coming out of Washington, D.C. that:
1. Compliance with the requirements of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) when businesses furnish credit information to consumer reporting
The Federal Trade Commission has stopped an online program that allegedly lured consumers with “free” access to their credit scores and then billed them a recurring fee of $29.95 per month for a credit monitoring program they never ordered. The defendants are One Technologies LP (also doing business as ScoreSense, One Technologies Inc., and MyCreditHealth);
On November 10, the Supreme Court declined to review an appeal by debt collection law firm Phelan Hallinan & Shmieg LLP over a Third Circuit decision in a class action that held that debtors are not required to dispute a debt under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act before filing an FDCPA lawsuit.
On June
On November 13, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau unveiled a comprehensive slate of consumer protections for prepaid debit cards that could increase the customer base for the financial product. The proposed rules (found here) are the most comprehensive set of federal standards for the fast-growing prepaid industry. Consumers are expected to load nearly $100