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The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) today outlined a plan for rulemaking under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) that could significantly impact the entire consumer data ecosystem. The proposed rulemaking could redefine “data brokers” and “data aggregators” and extend FCRA regulation to businesses that do not currently meet the FCRA’s definition of “consumer reporting agency.” The CFPB’s plan could also impose stricter rules for obtaining consumer consent and increase compliance requirements and risks for both new and existing members of the FCRA-regulated consumer data ecosystem.

Continue Reading CFPB Outlines Rulemaking Plan to Dramatically Alter Decades of FCRA Requirements for Everyone in the Consumer Data Ecosystem

This summer, Representative Roger Williams (R-Texas) and Senator John Kennedy (R-La.) introduced identical Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolutions in the U.S. House and Senate (H.J. Res. 66 and S. J. Res. 32, respectively) disapproving the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB or Bureau) implementation of the small business data collection and reporting final rule under § 1071 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Final Rule). Currently, the Senate resolution has not moved beyond introduction, but the House Financial Services Committee recently approved the House resolution to advance. If the resolutions are adopted by both houses of Congress and signed by the President, the Final Rule would be overturned. While that outcome appears unlikely under the current Democratic administration, letters submitted to Congress by banking and credit union trade groups supporting the joint resolution do appear to confirm the nearly unanimous industry opposition to the Final Rule.

Continue Reading Congressional Republicans Receive Banking and Credit Union Trade Association Support for Legislation to Overturn the CFPB’s Section 1071 Final Rule

Join us for the third episode in a special three-part series covering the CFPB’s intention to propose new rules under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). In this episode, Troutman Pepper Partners Chris Willis, Dave Gettings, Kim Phan, Ethan Ostroff, and Ron Raether discuss the potential implications of regulating data brokers under the FCRA, and how this might affect data brokers as well as other types of entities, including users, consumer reporting agencies, and resellers.

Continue Reading CFPB’s Rulemaking Under the FCRA (Part 3) – Crossover Episode With FCRA Focus Podcast

Join us for the third episode in a special three-part series covering the CFPB’s intention to propose new rules under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). In this episode, Troutman Pepper Partners Chris Willis, Dave Gettings, Kim Phan, Ethan Ostroff, and Ron Raether discuss the potential implications of regulating data brokers under the FCRA, and how this might affect data brokers as well as other types of entities, including users, consumer reporting agencies, and resellers.

Continue Reading CFPB’s Rulemaking Under the FCRA (Part 3) – Crossover Episode With The Consumer Finance Podcast

When using artificial intelligence (AI) or complex credit models, can lenders rely on the checklist of reasons provided in Regulation B sample forms for adverse action notices? According to today’s guidance issued by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau), the answer to that question is, in many circumstances, no.

Continue Reading CFPB Calls for Increased Specificity and Accuracy on Reasons for Credit Denials When Lenders Employ Artificial Intelligence

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has issued a final rule adjusting the Truth in Lending Act (TILA) dollar amounts for certain provisions, including under the Home Ownership and Equity Protection Act of 1994 (HOEPA), and the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank Act), where appropriate, based on the annual percentage change reflected in the consumer price index (CPI). The rule takes effect on January 1, 2024.

Continue Reading CFPB Announces Annual Threshold Adjustments for Credit Cards and Mortgages

In response to a petition filed last week by a number of consumer advocacy groups, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) announced that it will be seeking public input on a possible rule that would curtail mandatory pre-dispute arbitration provisions.

Continue Reading CFPB Will Seek Public Input on Proposed Rule on Mandatory Pre-Dispute Arbitration Provisions

On September 14, a federal district court in the Eastern District of Kentucky became the second court to issue an order granting, in part, a plaintiffs’ motion for a preliminary injunction enjoining the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB or Bureau) from enforcing its final rule under § 1071 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Final Rule) against the plaintiffs and their members. (A discussion of the first injunction issued by a Texas federal court can be found here.) The injunction in The Monticello Banking Company v. CFPB will dissolve if the U.S. Supreme Court reverses the Fifth Circuit in the Community Financial Services Association (CFSA) v CFPB case, which found the CFPB’s funding structure unconstitutional and, therefore, rules promulgated by the Bureau invalid.

Continue Reading Kentucky Federal Court Grants Preliminary Injunction Enjoining CFPB’s Enforcement of its Section 1071 Rule Until After U.S. Supreme Court Decision

On September 14, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) released a report on Tuition Payment Plans in Higher Education. Ninety-eight percent of colleges now allow students to pay for their education in installments using tuition payment plans. Tuition payment plans have a wide range of structures and may be managed by the schools or administered by third-party payment processors. Typically, tuition payment plans are interest-free, but, according to the CFPB, many charge enrollment fees, late fees and returned payment fees. The Bureau asserts that these fees can create a high cost of credit. Specifically, the CFPB states that when the amount borrowed is low and the enrollment fee is high, students can face annual percentage rates as high as 237%.

Continue Reading CFPB Continues to Focus on Tuition Payment Plans Offered by Colleges and Universities in Latest Report

Join us for the second episode in a special three-part series covering the CFPB’s intention to propose new rules under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). In this episode, Troutman Pepper Partners Chris Willis, Dave Gettings, Kim Phan, Ron Raether, and Ethan Ostroff discuss the regulation of credit header data and the potential impact on the FCRA and consumer reporting agencies, as well as users and data brokers.

Transcript: CFPB’s Rulemaking Under the FCRA (Part 2) (PDF)

Stay tuned for the third and final episode in this series, which will focus specifically on data brokers and the possibility of regulating them under the FCRA, and how this might affect data brokers as well as other types of entities, users, consumer reporting agencies, and resellers.