On July 2, 2020, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that it reached a settlement with a Maryland used car dealership. The consent order resolves a lawsuit filed by the DOJ in September 2019, which alleged that the dealership discriminated against African American consumers by offering different loan terms based on race,…
On June 18, 2020, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced the launch of its pilot advisory opinion (AO) program. The CFPB quickly followed this announcement by publishing a procedural rule implementing the pilot AO program, as well as a proposed procedural rule that would establish a permanent AO program…
On June 23, 2020, the New York Office of Attorney General (New York AG) announced that it reached a $17 million settlement with a mortgage originator and servicer. The New York AG alleged that the company violated New York’s mortgage servicing regulations, 3 N.Y.C.R.R. Part 419, by failing to make reasonable and…
On June 23, 2020, the New York Office of Attorney General (New York AG) announced that it reached a $3.6 million settlement with a national debt settlement company for allegedly violating the terms of a March 2011 settlement. Under the previous settlement, the company was alleged to have engaged in fraudulent or…
On June 23, 2020, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced that it reached a settlement with three companies that issued contracts for deeds with consumers. According to the CFPB, between 2010 and 2016, these companies allegedly had a business plan of acquiring foreclosed properties in bulk and reselling them to consumers through seller financing…
The Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS) and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) recently issued a joint statement concerning mortgage loan forbearances under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act). The joint statement signals the types of conduct that may become the focus of CFPB and…
On June 11, 2020, the North Dakota Office of the Attorney General (AG) announced that it had entered into an Assurance of Voluntary Compliance agreement with a California-based debt relief company, under which the company agreed to issue refunds to North Dakota consumers and to cease doing business in North…
On June 22, 2020, the Massachusetts Attorney General announced a settlement with a Florida-based mortgage loan servicer following an investigation into the servicer’s debt collection practices. Specifically, the settlement resolves allegations that the servicer made excessive calls to distressed homeowners and failed to provide written notice of their right to…
In response to the ongoing impact the COVID-19 pandemic has had on the financial industry, on June 3, 2020, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued a statement (CFPB Statement) announcing that it would provide temporary flexibility for credit card issuers in connection with certain written disclosure requirements. Under Regulation…
Congress has recently updated the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) to stabilize the economy in response to the troubling economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Lenders should be aware that the federal government’s efforts to provide loans to small businesses in the wake of the pandemic may also result in increased…
On June 5, 2020, the Attorney General for the District of Columbia (DC AG) announced that it had filed a complaint in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia against an online lender for allegedly making illegal loans to over 2,500 DC consumers in violation of the Consumer Protection…
On May 22, 2020, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that it had obtained a temporary restraining order against a payday lending enterprise for alleged violations of the Federal Trade Commission Act, the Telemarketing Sales Rule, the Truth in Lending Act and Regulation Z, and the Electronic Funds Transfer Act and…
On June 2, 2020, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced that it had reached a settlement with multiple related companies based in Tennessee that offer payday and auto-title loans. The CFPB alleged that the companies made deceptive disclosures, failed to refund overpayments on its loans, and engaged in unfair…
On May 15, 2020, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (collectively, Regulators), proposed a new final interim rule “that temporarily revises the supplementary leverage ratio calculation for depository institutions,” in order to “strengthen…
On May 22, 2020, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office (Mass AG) announced that they had filed a complaint against a credit repair company and the owner of the company in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, alleging that they had engaged in deceptive…
On May 19, 2020, a coalition of 34 state attorneys general announced a settlement of over $550 million with an auto financing company. The settlement is the result of a five year, multi-state investigation into the company’s subprime lending practices. The company is alleged to have used a sophisticated credit scoring…
On May 19, 2020, the Federal Trade Commission announced that it had reached a $40.2 million settlement with a payment processing company and one of its executives after the company allegedly failed to monitor and heed warnings that the executive was processing payments and laundering for fraudulent companies. The simultaneously-filed complaint alleges that…
On May 14, 2020, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced that it had entered into a proposed stipulated judgment and final order with a California-based mortgage lender and several affiliated individuals and companies (collectively, the “lender”) resolving allegations that the lender had obtained consumer credit reports for an improper…
The sudden financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on consumers has led to calls for loan servicers and other interested parties to provide temporary or permanent relief for borrowers who are unable to continue making loan payments. The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), guidance in the…
On May 6, 2020, the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, in ACA International v. Healey, Case No. 1:20-cv-10767-RGS, enjoined Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey (AG Healey) from enforcing provisions of the emergency regulation, 940 CMR 35.00, et seq. (Regulation), prohibiting debt collection calls and initiating lawsuits during…