As summarized in the March 2018 issue of the American Bankruptcy Institute Journal, ABI’s Consumer Bankruptcy Committee has recently issued several recommendations and made several observations regarding the treatment of student loans under the Bankruptcy Code, codified in Title 11 of the United States Code.
First, the Committee intends to fashion a program
In the student loan market, servicers play a critical role. These entities maintain account records regarding borrowers, send periodic statements advising borrowers about amounts due and outstanding balances, receive payments from borrowers, allocate those payments among various loans and loan holders, answer borrowers’ questions, report to creditors and investors, and strive to prevent default by
The Senate’s latest banking bill primarily focuses on overturning large chunks of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. Somewhat unexpectedly, on March 8, the Senate’s Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee approved the addition of two bipartisan proposals that provide help to some of the nation’s forty-four million student loan borrowers to
State in the House: Bill Passed Committee, but Vote Not Scheduled
Introduced by Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.), the Promoting Real Opportunity, Success, and Prosperity through Education Reform (PROSPER) Act cleared the Committee on Education and the Workforce of the United States House of Representatives on December 13, 2017. It did so despite claims by Democrats—and
Two major groups within the financial industry began the month of March with renewed advocacy for structural modifications to the student loan program managed by the U.S. Department of Education, which currently issues about 90% of student loans.
First, in early March, the Consumer Bankers Association, a trade organization representing financial
On February 21, the United States Department of Education, led by Secretary Elisabeth Dee DeVos, issued a memorandum indicating it was considering stepping into the debate over the standard used to determine whether a student loan can be discharged under the Bankruptcy Code. The request for public comment appears aimed in part at revisiting allowing
The FTC has just issued its annual report, the Consumer Sentinel Network Data Book, aggregating data on the 2.68 million consumer complaints that it received in 2017. This number is down from a peak in consumer complaints during 2015 – 3.04 million complaints – and last year’s total of 2.98 million.
According to the FTC’s
In the last few years, the right to privacy has been hotly debated in the United States. What critics do not understand or appreciate is that the next technological paradigm is completely dependent on improvements both to the quality and quantity of data.
As connected things (IoT) explode in popularity, they make things such as
On February 12, 2018, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) released its strategic plan for 2018 through 2022. The plan, which will take two years to implement, calls for placing new restrictions on the CFPB’s enforcement authority. “The proposed reforms would impose financial discipline, reduce wasteful spending, and ensure appropriate congressional oversight,” according to
Today, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (“D.C. Circuit”) issued its en banc decision in the closely-watched PHH Corp. v. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB” or the “Bureau”) matter. In short, the D.C. Circuit upheld the constitutionality of the structure of the CFPB, reversing its 2016 panel decision.
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