Five Democratic Senators — Elizabeth Warren (MA), Dianne Feinstein (CA), Brian Schatz (HI), Jack Reed (RI), and Alex Padilla (CA) — recently petitioned the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to “take action to eliminate hidden fees associated with international remittance payments.”

The Remittance Transfer Rule requires transfer providers to provide prepayment disclosures to consumers prior

In an October 27 letter, the American Bankers Association (ABA) expressed concern regarding a proposal currently being considered by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) that would shift liability from consumers to banks for scams involving peer-to-peer (P2P) payments. This would include requiring banks to reimburse consumers for P2P payments made but later identified

As part of its ongoing initiative to scrutinize so-called “junk fees,” the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) published guidance on two practices that it opines potentially violate the Consumer Financial Protection Act’s prohibition on unfair practices. Specifically, the CFPB published a compliance bulletin, cautioning against charging across-the-board depositor fees to consumers who deposit a

Unsurprisingly, defendants in two separate enforcements actions filed by the Consumer Financial Protection Agency (CFPB) have cited the Fifth Circuit’s recent decision in Community Financial Services Association of America, Ltd. v. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau as a basis for having their actions dismissed. As we discussed here, earlier this month, the Fifth Circuit held

Pursuant to its authority under Section 1022(b)(1) of the Dodd-Frank Act, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued an advisory opinion to consumer reporting agencies (CRAs), highlighting their obligation to screen for and eliminate obviously false data from consumers’ credit reports. Specifically, CRAs were instructed to implement policies, procedures, and systems to screen for and

After a years-long effort, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) has announced the approval of both the FICO 10T and the VantageScore 4.0 credit score models for use by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (Enterprises). The FHFA expects the transition to the two-score model to take multiple years to implement, which will require both scores

On October 6, the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) announced a consent order with Rhinebeck Bank (Rhinebeck) to resolve allegations that, in violation of New York Executive Law Section 296-a, the bank instituted discretionary dealer markup policies that resulted in a disparate impact that negatively affected members of minority groups.

In addition

On October 18, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) filed a complaint in a Texas federal court against Active Network LLC (Active) for allegedly tricking people, when trying to sign up for a fundraising race or other community event, into subscribing to its discount club Active Advantage.

Specifically, the complaint alleges Active inserted a webpage

On October 20, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, seeking public comment on the harms stemming from what it characterizes as “junk fees,” i.e., fees that are allegedly unnecessary, unavoidable, or unexpected, and that inflate costs while adding little value. The term also encompasses “hidden fees,” which are fees

In a major decision released October 19, a three-judge panel of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals found the funding mechanism for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) to be unconstitutional. Specifically, the court in Community Financial Services Association of America, Ltd. v. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau held the CFPB’s funding violates the