On April 25, 2016, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced it entered into two settlements, available here and here, with a law firm and a financial services company over allegations the entities filed debt collection lawsuits without properly verifying the underlying debt obligations, in violation of the Consumer Financial Protection Act…
On April 25, 2016, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced that it entered into a settlement agreement with a regional bank over allegations the bank engaged in discriminatory lending practices in violation of the Fair Housing Act. According to HUD, the bank discriminated against racial minorities by refusing…
On April 15, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that a mortgage company settled claims it violated the False Claims Act by originating and underwriting mortgage loans insured by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Federal Housing Administration (FHA) that failed to comply with certain requirements for the FHA insurance program. The settlement…
On April 21, 2016, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced that it filed two lawsuits in federal court in the Central District for California against the founders of an online lead aggregator website, which allegedly sold loan applications to lenders and other companies without properly vetting the sources of the data…
On April 14, 2016, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced two changes concerning its policies affecting delinquent mortgage loans: first, it announced that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will offer mortgage principal reductions to certain borrowers who are seriously delinquent and underwater, and second, it announced new enhancements to…
On April 13, 2016, the New York Attorney General announced the filing of a lawsuit against several affiliated companies and individuals who lease credit card transaction processing equipment to small business owners. The Attorney General alleges that the companies engaged in fraudulent and deceptive practices by inducing individuals into signing lease…
On April 13, 2016, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (the “OCC”) assessed a $35 million dollar penalty against a national bank for billing practices alleged to be unfair and deceptive in violation of Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act. The penalty was assessed in connection with a credit…
On April 12, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit heard oral argument in the first appeal of a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) administrative enforcement ruling, which ordered a mortgage lender to disgorge $109 million for alleged violations of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act…
On April 8, 2016, the Department of Justice (DOJ) officially announced a $1.2 billion settlement with a national bank and one of its executives relating to the bank’s participation in the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) Direct Endorsement Lender Program. As part of the settlement agreement, the bank acknowledged that between the period of May…
On November 6, 2015, State National Bank (SNB) filed a summary judgment motion in the United States District Court for the District of D.C., seeking a declaratory judgment holding that the CFPB is unconstitutional and invalidating the actions taken by Director Cordray during his 18-month recess appointment. See State National…
On April 7, 2016, the Washington Attorney General (“AG”) announced settlements with six student loan adjustment companies which were alleged to have “preyed on students” by charging excessive fees. The Washington AG claimed that these firms violated Washington’s Debt Adjustment Act and Consumer Protection Act by overcharging 346 Washington students…
On April 1, 2016, the CFPB published its monthly consumer complaint snapshot. See generally, CFPB Monthly Complaint Rep., Apr. 2016. In addition to highlighting trends in consumer complaints received by the CFPB, the April report spotlights mortgage loan-related complaints. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the spotlight shows that 82% of the complaints received…
On March 31, 2016 the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) issued a white paper setting forth its vision of responsible innovation, and signaling its increasing involvement in the financial technology (Fintech) space. The white paper, titled “Supporting Responsible Innovation in the Federal Banking System: An OCC Perspective,”…
On March 31, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced that it entered a consent order with a student loan debt relief company, resolving allegations that the company violated the Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA); Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR); and Regulation P, which implements the privacy notice requirements of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act…
On March 23, the Hawaii Attorney General (AG) announced that a consent judgment had been entered in Hawaii state court between a group of state attorneys general and a for-profit education company, under which the company will forgive approximately $118,865 in student loans for former Hawaii students. As previously covered by Enforcement Watch,…
On April 1, 2016, the California Attorney General announced that it filed suit against a prominent investment bank for alleged “misrepresentations about complex investments such as residential mortgage-backed securities, in which large pools of home loans were packaged together and sold to investors.” The eight-count complaint, which was filed in…