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HUD Announces Settlement Agreements with Two Mortgage Lenders Over Alleged Violations of FHA Rules

On August 10, 2015, HUD announced​ that it had reached settlement agreements with two regional mortgage companies over allegations that the companies failed to comply with HUD’s Fair Housing Act regulations. Both companies obtained approval from HUD to originate FHA-insured mortgage loans. According to HUD, one of the companies charged illegal…

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Bank Reveals DOJ False Claims Act Investigation of FHA Loans

On August 5, 2015, a bank revealed in an U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (“HUD”) Office of Inspector General and the U.S. Department of Justice (collectively, the “Government”) are currently investigating whether the bank complied with underwriting requirements on loans…

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CFPB Announces Lawsuit Against Off Shore Payday Lender

On August 4, 2015, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) announced that it filed a complaint ​against ​several interrelated offshore companies accused of engaging in usurious lending.  The complaint alleges that the companies originated, serviced and collected payday loans from consumers in all 50 states through the Internet.  It is alleged that companies collected money…

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CFPB Investigates National Bank Over Student Loan Servicing Practices

Piggy Bank with a Graduation Cap

On August 3, 2015, a national bank revealed in an U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing that its student loan servicing practices are under investigation by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”). The bank indicated that it is cooperating with the investigation and anticipates the CFPB may order it to remediate its customers and/or…

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Auto Finance Company Settles Action Brought by CFPB and DOJ

On July 15, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) and the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) announced that claims concerning an indirect auto finance company’s alleged discriminatory lending practices were settled as part of a consent order requiring $24 million in restitution payments to borrowers and changes to the lender’s dealer compensation system.  The consent order alleges…

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CFPB Takes Action Against Companies for Unfair Billing of Credit Card Add-On Products and Services

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) took action against two credit card vendors, entering into proposed consent orders regarding the companies’ offerings of allegedly unlawful add-on products.  Credit card companies offer consumers “add-on” services, such as credit monitoring or identity theft protection for a monthly or annual membership fee. Following an…

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Regional Law Firm Faces Administrative Charges Over Claims it Charged Illegal Advanced Fees for Loan Modification Services

On June 26, 2015, the Maryland Attorney General announced the filing of administrative charges against a regional law firm over claims the firm charged illegal advance fees in connection with loan modification services. According to the Maryland Attorney General, lawyers at the firm promised consumers that they could obtain modification…

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West Virginia Attorney General Settles with Automobile Title Loan Company Over Debt Collection Practices

On June 23, 2015, the West Virginia Attorney General announced a settlement with an automobile title loan and debt collection company over claims the company engaged in abusive debt collection practices. According to the West Virginia Attorney General, the company repeatedly called consumers at inconvenient times regarding their delinquent loan payments and…

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CFPB Summarizes Recent Results of Supervisory Enforcement

On June 23, 2015, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) released its Supervisory Highlights report detailing the Bureau’s supervision efforts for the first four months of 2015. The report summarizes the most common “illegal practices” uncovered by the Bureau and identifies the areas where the Bureau has  focused on in its…

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Maryland Attorney General Settles with Mortgage and Credit Counseling Companies Over Claims of False Representations and Illegal Fees

On June 22, 2015, the Maryland Attorney General announced a settlement with two regional mortgage and credit consulting companies and their sole owner over claims the companies made false representations regarding their ability to obtain mortgage approval for consumers, solicited illegal advance fees, and engaged in credit counseling without the…

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CFPB Announces Rule Permitting Monitoring of Auto Finance Companies

On Wednesday, June 10, 2015, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) announced a new rule that grants the CFPB the ability to monitor nonbank companies that qualify as “larger participants of a market for automobile financing.”  The CFPB simultaneously adopted a separate rule defining certain automobile leases as a “financial…

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FTC Releases 2014 Annual Financial Acts Enforcement Report

FTC

On June 9, 2015, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) announced that it provided its 2014 Annual Financial Acts Enforcement Report (the “Report”) to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) and the Federal Reserve Board.  The 23-page Report, dated May 29, 2015, provided information about enforcement and related activities involving Regulation Z (Truth in…

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State Attorneys General Announce Settlement with Credit Reporting Agencies

On May 20, 2015, Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine, along with attorneys general of thirty other states (“the State AGs”), announced a $6,000,000 settlement with three major credit reporting agencies (“CRAs”). According to the announcement and the Settlement Agreement, the settlement is a culmination of a multistate investigation that the…

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CA Department of Business Oversight Sues Debt Repayment Service for Alleged Excessive Fees and Unlicensed Operations

On Friday, May 15, 2015, the California Department of Business Oversight (DBO) announced that it filed a complaint in state court against an Ohio-based biweekly debt repayment firm and allegedly associated entities (collectively “Defendants”) claiming certain violations of licensing, fee, and consumer protection provisions of California’s Financial Code and Business & Professions…

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