Yesterday, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas granted the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB or Bureau) motion for summary judgment on all Administrative Procedure Act (APA) challenges brought by several trade associations to the CFPB’s Final Rule under § 1071 of the Dodd-Frank Act, the “Small Business Lending Data Collection Rule” (Final Rule).
Yesterday, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the State of Arizona announced a joint action against Coulter Motor Company, an Arizona-based motor vehicle dealership, and its former general manager, for allegedly engaging in deceptive pricing practices and discriminatory financing treatment of Latino consumers. The complaint alleges violations of the FTC Act, the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, and the Arizona Consumer Fraud Act. The defendants have agreed to a $2.6 million settlement, most of which will be used to provide refunds to affected consumers.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) recently released its semi-annual regulatory agenda, outlining its planned rulemaking initiatives. The CFPB releases regulatory agendas twice a year in voluntary conjunction with a broader initiative led by the Office of Budget and Management to publish a Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory actions across the federal government. This agenda includes a mix of rules in the pre-rulemaking, proposed rule, and final rule stages, covering a wide range of topics from mortgage closing costs to financial data transparency. The CFPB has not yet posted a blog or issued a press release about the agenda.
As discussed here, on February 3, 2023, an Illinois federal court dismissed a case brought by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) in 2020 against Townstone Financial, Inc., a Chicago mortgage lender, for alleged violations of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA). The CFPB had accused Townstone of discouraging prospective African American applicants in the Chicago metropolitan area from applying for mortgages.
On July 2, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) published the summer edition of its Supervisory Highlights, focusing on examinations of auto and student loan servicing companies and debt collectors that were completed between April 1, 2023 and December 31, 2023. The report also highlights consumer complaints about medical payment products and identifies concerns with financial institutions freezing deposit accounts.
As discussed here, following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Community Financial Services Association of America, Limited v. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau), which upheld the CFPB’s funding structure, the Bureau announced updated compliance dates for its Section 1071 Final Rule concerning small business data collection and reporting under the Dodd-Frank Act.
On June 20, six federal financial services regulators issued the final automated valuation model (AVM) rule. The AVM rule, initially proposed in June 2023 and discussed here, aims to implement the quality control standards mandated by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 (Dodd-Frank Act). The final AVM rule is largely identical to the proposed rule and is set to take effect on the first day of the calendar quarter following 12 months after its publication in the Federal Register.
On June 6, the U.S. Department of the Treasury (Treasury) issued a request for information (RFI) seeking public input on the uses, opportunities, and risks presented by the use of artificial intelligence (AI) within the financial sector. Notably, the Treasury’s RFI comes three years after the issuance of a similar RFI by the federal banking agencies (Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Federal Reserve Board, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation), Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and National Credit Union Administration on financial institutions’ use of AI, discussed here.
Last week, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) filed a complaint against SoLo Funds, Inc., a fintech company operating a small-dollar, short-term lending platform. The CFPB alleges that SoLo Funds engaged in deceptive practices related to the total cost of loans, servicing, and collection of void and uncollectible loans in violation of the Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA) and engaged in providing consumer reports governed by the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) but failed to ensure the maximum possible accuracy of those consumer reports.
As discussed here, yesterday the U.S. Supreme Court issued its long-awaited decision in Community Financial Services Association of America, Limited (CFSA) v. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) holding that the CFPB’s special funding structure does not violate the appropriations clause of the Constitution. Wasting no time, today the CFPB filed notices of the CFSA decision in cases nationwide, including in the case where several trade associations are challenging the CFPB’s final rule under § 1071 of the Dodd-Frank Act (Final Rule), Texas Bankers Association, et al. v. CFPB.