On May 18, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz signed into law the Commerce Omnibus Bill, which, among other things, amends Minnesota Statute §§ 47.60 and 47.601 to cap the annual percentage rates (APR) on consumer small loans and consumer short-term loans at a 50% all-in APR, and expressly provides for predominant economic interest and totality
As recently discussed on our podcast here, section 1071 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 (Dodd-Frank Act) amended the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) to require lenders to collect information about small business credit applications they receive, including geographic and demographic data concerning the principal owners, lending decisions, and the price of credit. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) issued its proposed rule in 2021, and after considering the over 2,500 comments it received, on March 30, 2023, the CFPB issued the massive, highly technical, and complicated Final Rule. The Final Rule and its accompanying discussion and analysis, as well as the Official Commentary totals 888 pages exclusive of the 123-page Filing Instruction Guide and numerous other documents released by the Bureau. In this first in a multi-post blog series, we will provide a high-level overview of the Final Rule.
On May 19, the Massachusetts Division of Banks entered into a consent order with Educational Computer Systems, Inc. (ECSI) to resolve allegations that ECSI was engaging in the business of a third party loan servicer or student loan servicer without the appropriate license. Under the terms of the consent order, ECSI must: 1) pay an
If a financial institution unilaterally reopens a closed deposit account to process a transaction, does that constitute an unfair act or practice under the Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA)? According to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) in its Consumer Financial Protection Circular 2023-02 issued on May 10, the answer is yes: “This practice may
As discussed here and here, in October 2022, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) reached a $3.38 million settlement with Passport Automotive Group (Passport) and two of its officers over allegations that the automotive group violated the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) and the FTC Act by adding “junk fees” onto the cost of its
As discussed here, D.K. et al. v. United Behavioral Health et al. is a case that has been carefully watched in the health benefits space for its potential to change what health plan administrators must include in adverse benefit determination letters. On May 15, 2023, the Tenth Circuit issued its opinion affirming the district
As discussed here, on March 30, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued its final rule under Section 1071 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Final Rule). Section 1071 amended the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) to impose significant data collection and reporting requirements on small business creditors. On May 12, the CFPB issued a Small Entity Compliance Guide that includes a detailed summary of the Final Rule’s requirements and examples to illustrate some key portions of the Final Rule. For example, illustrations include what constitutes covered originations, what date should be reported for an application, and how a covered entity is to report a response to whether the applicant is a women-owned, minority-owned, and/or LGBTQI+ business if the applicant refuses to respond.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has reached a settlement with Nexway, Inc. (Nexway), its affiliated companies, and officers for allegedly facilitating tech support scams in violation of Section 5 of the FTC Act and the Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR). Nexway allegedly used its merchant account to knowingly process consumer payments for third parties engaging in
On May 2, the Florida legislature passed amendments to the Florida Telephone Solicitation Act (FTSA) that would drastically narrow its scope and presumably cut down on the number of class actions filed pursuant to it. The bill will take effect immediately after it is signed by Governor DeSantis.
Among other things, the proposed amendments would:
Citing research that found about half of U.S. adults find it difficult to afford the cost of their healthcare, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) published a report focusing on medical credit cards and loans used to cover basic medical treatment and emergency health care. According to the CFPB, the use of medical