District Judge William J. Nealon of the Middle District of Pennsylvania issued two recent decisions holding that both a Quick Response (“QR”) code and a bar code appearing through the glassine window of an envelope containing a collection letter violate section 1692f(8) of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, which prohibits “using any language or
CFPB Fines Mortgage Servicer $1.5 Million for Failing to Honor Loan Modifications after Service Transfers
On July 30, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced that it reached an agreement with Residential Credit Solutions, Inc., a national mortgage servicing company, whereby the mortgage loan servicer agreed to pay $1.5 million in restitution to borrowers and a $100,000 civil penalty. The CFPB alleged that the Residential Credit Solutions had failed to honor
Dodd-Frank: A “Very Good Thing” or Obamacare for our Economy?
This month, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act celebrated its fifth anniversary. Former Congressman Barney Frank and Senator Chris Dodd, co-authors of the Dodd-Frank Act, are pleased with the Act after five years, claiming that “the average American is much better off than before the rules were added,” because “subprime mortgages can’t
Senate Finance Committee Votes to Extend Mortgage Debt Forgiveness
The Senate Finance Committee voted 23-3 in favor of extending a package of business and individual tax provisions known as “tax extenders,” including one that will ensure that mortgage debt that has been forgiven by a lender will be excluded from the borrower’s personal income.
Under current law, taxpayers who have mortgage debt canceled or
CFPB Delays By Two Months the Effective Date of The “Know Before You Owe” Mortgage Disclosure Rule
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued a final rule that delays the effective date of the Know Before You Owe mortgage disclosure rule to October 3, 2015. This news follows on the announcement by the CFPB on June 24 of its proposed amendment to the rule, also known as the TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure rule (“TRID”),
Congress Trying Again To Reform or Eliminate the CFPB
On July 22, the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government approved a spending bill for the 2016 fiscal year that would change the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) leadership structure by replacing the CFPB director with a five-member commission.
The bill also would bring funding for the CFPB’s budget under the annual
Troutman Sanders Welcomes Keith Barnett
Troutman Sanders LLP announced that Keith J. Barnett has joined the firm’s Government Investigations, Compliance and Enforcement Practice as a partner in the Atlanta office. He joins the firm from Sutherland Asbill & Brennan.
Keith is a seasoned compliance and government enforcement lawyer with more than a decade of experience representing clients before government regulators,
Judge Denies Law Firm’s Motion to Dismiss Debt Collection Lawsuit Filed by CFPB
On July 14, 2015, a federal judge in Atlanta denied a law firm’s Motion to Dismiss a claim against it filed by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) for violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (“FDCPA”) and the Consumer Financial Protection Act or the Dodd-Frank Act (“Dodd-Frank”).
The CFPB filed suit against a
Director Cordray Comments on Ability-to-Repay, TRID, and Credit Cards
On July 15, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) Director Richard Cordray provided insightful testimony on a number of subjects in an appearance before the Senate Banking Committee. During the question-and-answer session, Cordray indicated that the CFPB will be revisiting the income-verification standards of the Ability-to-Repay Rule at some point in the near term. He commented
CFPB Issues “Guiding Principles” for Financial Technology Payment Systems to Ensure Consumer Protections
On July 9, just weeks after initiating its first enforcement actions against payment processors, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued an outline of nine “guiding principles” for faster payment networks which will provide greater consumer protections. The CFPB indicated that new technology supporting payment systems must be secure, transparent, accessible, affordable to consumers, and have