Goodwin’s Consumer Finance Insights (CFI) monitors, reports, and analyzes the latest legal news, activity, and developments impacting the consumer finance industry. Consumer financial services companies—whether banks, fintechs, nonbank and alternative lenders, payment providers, or industry vendors or service providers, like digital advertisers and lead generators—face a constantly shifting and maturing regulatory and legal landscape. Growing from the Financial Crisis, today more than any time in history the consumer finance industry must confront a robust and growing body of industry legislation and regulation, all while under the microscope of sophisticated enforcers, like the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and state regulators and attorneys general. It is critical for in-house and outside corporate counsel, compliance departments, and business executives to stay informed and aware of these developments to navigate institutional, reputational, and legal risks. Goodwin’s CFI is a singular source of the most recent industry news and latest enforcement activity for you to leverage. Here, you will find links to original enforcement documents, enforcement activity statistics, and reports, analysis, and commentary from Goodwin’s leading Consumer Financial Services Litigation and Enforcement practitioners.

CFPB Settles with South Carolina Companies Over Improper Debt Collection Practices

On June 13, 2018, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau​ (CFPB) annou​nced its settlement with a South Carolina corporation and its subsidiaries over allegations that the companies engaged in improper debt collection and credit furnishing practices. According to the consent order, the CFPB found that the companies made improper in-person and…

Read More

FTC Settles Claims Against Student Loan Debt Relief Company for Over $2.3 Million

FTC

On June 11, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that it had settled claims against an individual and his loan debt relief companies in connection with its coordinated federal-state enforcement initiative to target deceptive student loan debt relief scams, called “Operation Game of Loans.”  Enforcement Watch covered a similar enforcement action earlier…

Read More

CFPB Dismisses Administrative Proceedings Against PHH Corp.

On June 7, 2018, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued an order dismissing administrative proceedings against PHH Corp.  The dismissal follows a January ​31, 2018 opinion by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit (D.C. Circuit) reinstating the court’s prior interpretation of Section 8 of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA).  ​​​According to the…

Read More

FTC Settles With Defendant Involved in Mortgage Relief Scheme for $15.5 Million

FTC

​On June 7, 2018, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced a settlement and stipulated order for permanent injunction​ ​arising from a lawsuit brought by the FTC concerning allegedly illegal mortgage relief practices. The FTC initiated an action against several defendants in January 2018 alleging violations of Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act, 15…

Read More

In the Wake of ACA International, Four Cases Follow Suit

On March 16, 2018, the D.C. Circuit issued a long-awaited ruling in ACA International v. FCC, which struck down the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC’s) expansive interpretation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act’s (TCPA’s) “automatic telephone dialing system” (ATDS) definition.  As LenderLaw Watch analyzed more fully here, the D.C. Circuit focused…

Read More

Virginia AG Files Suit Over Pension Loans

On March 7, 2018, the Virginia Attorney General’s Office (“Virginia AG”) filed a complaint against two related loan companies and their owner (the “Defendants”) in Virginia state court.  According to the complaint, the Defendants engage in the practice of purchasing portions of Virginia citizens’ pension payments in exchange for a…

Read More

FTC Obtains Preliminary Injunction Against Mortgage Relief Operation

FTC

On May 8, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) announced that the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California granted its request to preliminarily enjoin affiliated California-based debt relief companies from continuing operations, and to freeze their assets. In its complaint, the FTC alleged that the companies violated Section 5(a) of the Federal Trade Commission Act,…

Read More

Virginia Attorney General Files Suit Against Online Lender Alleging Predatory Lending

On May 4, Virginia Attorney General Mark R. Herring (“VA Attorney General”) announced that its Predatory Lending Unit had filed suit in Virginia state court against a Chicago-based online lender, alleging violations of the Virginia Consumer Protection Act, Virginia Code §§ 59.1-196 to 59.1-207 (“VCPA”). The complaint alleges that the lender, one of the largest online…

Read More

Webinar: What's Happening Inside the CFPB and How It Impacts State Enforcement of Consumer Finance Laws

On Tuesday, May 8, 2018, Anthony Alexis, head of Goodwin’s Consumer Financial Services Enforcement Practice and former Assistant Director and Head of the Office of Enforcement at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and Kyle Tayman, partner in Goodwin’s Consumer Financial Services Enforcement Practice, kicked off Goodwin’s State of Enforcement Series with the webinar “What’s Happening Inside the CFPB and…

Read More

House Bill Proposes to Set New Framework for CFPB Regulation

On April 17, 2018, House members Sean Duffy (R-WI) and Ed Perlmutter (D-CO) co-sponsored bi-partisan legislation aimed at providing more certainty to companies subject to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) regulation.  The bill, H.R. 5534, titled the “Give Useful Information to Define Effective Compliance Act” or “GUIDE Compliance Act,”…

Read More