We have previously reported on the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s concern that the recent explosive growth of nonbank specialty mortgage servicers may pose operational and liquidity risks to such servicers and put in jeopardy Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (collectively, the Enterprises) that guarantee these mortgages. In particular, FHFA concluded that the nonbank servicers’ use
Regulatory Enforcement + Compliance
District Court Certifies FCRA Background Check Disclosure and Adverse Action Class Action
On October 31, a United States District Court certified a Fair Credit Reporting Act class action involving claims that an employer procured a background check through an improper disclosure form and took adverse action without following the proper adverse action protocol. Although the Court’s decision did not address the merits of the case, the Court…
CFPB Issues Report On Lending Practices to Service Members
On December 29, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued a report calling for stricter and more extensive regulations to the Military Lending Act. The report, titled The Extension of High-Cost Credit to Servicemembers and Their Families, comes on the heels of a recent action by the CFPB, in which Virginia and North Carolina…
Discount Membership Program Settles Claims by Vermont AG
Vermont Attorney General William Sorrell has announced that he has settled claims against Stonebridge Benefit Services, Inc., a company that markets discount membership programs, and J.C. Penney Company, Inc., from which Stonebridge obtained consumer credit card information.
Texas-based Stonebridge sells membership programs that provide discounts for various goods and services. Customers’ credit cards are subject…
CFPB Proposes New Rules Regulating Prepaid Financial Products
On December 23, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued a proposed rule amending Regulation E, 12 C.F.R. §§ 205.1 et seq. – which implements the Electronic Fund Transfer Act, 15 U.S.C. §§ 1693 et seq. – and Regulation Z, 12 C.F.R. §§ 226.1 et seq. – which implements the Truth in Lending Act, 15 U.S.C.
Filing Time-Barred Proof of Claim May Have FDCPA Implications
On December 8, the Southern District of Indiana released a decision relating to the interplay between the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and bankruptcy. In Grandidier v. Quantum3 Group, LLC, the District Court denied a motion to dismiss a plaintiff’s complaint relating to the supposed filing of a time-barred proof of claim in the…
ALJ Issues First Decision in Contested CFPB Administrative Enforcement Action; Appellate Decision by Director Cordray Pending
In November, Administrative Law Judge Cameron Elliot of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission issued the first “recommended decision” in a litigated Consumer Financial Protection Bureau administrative enforcement action.
In In re PHH Corporation, et. al., the CFPB alleged this residential mortgage lender was engaged in a nearly 15-year “mortgage insurance kickback scheme” by…
FTC Ends Aggressive Year in Auto Enforcement with Action against Dallas Dealer
By all accounts, 2014 was a particularly busy one for the Federal Trade Commission in taking enforcement actions in the automobile sales and financing industry. The FTC’s last public action of 2014 in the auto finance and sales area involved a suburban Dallas dealer, charged with using deceptive ads to promote the sale and lease…
Two States Ask Supreme Court to Overturn Colorado’s Marijuana Laws
Oklahoma and Nebraska filed a joint lawsuit asking the U.S. Supreme Court to find Colorado’s recreational marijuana laws unconstitutional. The two states claim that Amendment 64 “directly conflicts with federal law and undermines express federal priorities in the arena of drug control and enforcement.”
Colorado’s Amendment 64, which was passed as ballot initiative on November…
OCC Revises Comptroller’s Handbook Booklet on TILA
On December 16, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) issued a new Truth in Lending Act (TILA) booklet of the Comptroller’s Handbook.
Replacing guidance from December 2010, this booklet provides updated guidance and procedures to examiners in connection with recent changes made to Regulation Z (12 CFR 1026), primarily with regard…