Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)

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On September 15, 2020, after considerable delay and pursuant to a court settlement, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) released its Outline of Proposals Under Consideration and Alternatives Considered for small business lending data collection rulemaking. When the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank) was passed, Section 1071 amended the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) to require such small business data collection. Dodd-Frank requires the CFPB to comply with The Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act (SBREFA) of 1996, which provided new avenues for small businesses to participate in the federal regulatory arena and created Small Business Advocacy Review panels (SBAR panels, also known as SBREFA panels).

Section 1071 states that “in the case of any application to a financial institution for credit for women-owned, minority-owned, or small business, the financial institution shall – (1) inquire whether the business is a women-owned, minority-owned, or small business, without regard to whether such application is received in person, by mail, by telephone, by electronic mail or other form of electronic transmission, or by any other means, and whether or not such application is in response to a solicitation by the financial institution…” The purpose of Section 1071 was to facilitate the enforcement of fair lending laws. The CFPB is beginning the process of writing regulations to implement Section 1071.

The CFPB’s Outline describes the various proposals that are being considered to implement Section 1071, the relevant law, the regulatory process, and an economic analysis of the potential impacts on small entities that will be directly impacted.

In late August, the California legislature passed Assembly Bill 1864, creating a Department of Financial Protection and Innovation and bolstering legal protections for consumers.

The new Department is intended to be a state-level version of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).

For example, similar to the CFPB, the commissioner of the Department is authorized…

On July 13, 2020, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) issued a study, entitled “Targeting Credit Builder Loans: Insights from a Credit Builder Loan Evaluation” and an accompanying practitioner’s guide – ultimately concluding that a credit builder loan (“CBL”) could increase the likelihood of establishing a credit record for consumers without one, and could help…

The CFPB recently published a blog post about the agency’s on-going efforts to monitor industry updates and innovation and how these changes align with regulatory obligations under the CFPB’s consumer protection laws. This post specifically highlighted using artificial intelligence (AI) and/or machine learning (ML) related to the adverse action notices that are required under the…

On July 28, 2020, Troutman Pepper attorneys, Maryia Jones (Virginia Beach office) and Stephen J. Steinlight (New York – East Side office) will serve again on the faculty for their webinar series by Lorman Educational Services entitled, “Collection Disputes: A Good Defense Is the Best Offense.”

The credit and collection industry remain under…

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued a final rule on July 7, 2020 rescinding the mandatory ability to repay underwriting provisions on small dollar loans that it had previously announced under 12 C.F.R. § 1041 (the Final Rule). The Final Rule has left the payments provisions intact.

The CFPB first finalized regulations governing small…

The Supreme Court ruled yesterday that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) can carry on, despite its unconstitutional leadership structure. The ruling gives the President the freedom to replace a CFPB Director at will. In a 5-4 decision, the Court held that the CFPB’s leadership by a single director removable only for cause was an…

On June 18, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau launched a pilot advisory opinion (“AO”) program in an effort to address some uncertainty in its existing regulations and make that process more public.

The program will allow entities to seek direct guidance on uncertainties they have with regulatory requirements that the CFPB oversees. The Bureau will…

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued a statement on June 3 relaxing the requirements for some electronic disclosures given for requests by consumers made via telephone for credit card plans. The CFPB acknowledged that credit card issuers are receiving more calls and may have limited staffing due to the pandemic. Many institutions are asking for…

On May 21, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued a report providing an analysis of the complaints it has received since the outbreak of the coronavirus (“COVID-19”) pandemic. Unsurprisingly, the number of complaints has increased dramatically.

The report shows that the CFPB received 36,700 consumer complaints in March and 42,400 in April, the two highest…