On April 17, 2018, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) announced that the Senate would seek to repeal the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB’s) indirect auto lending guidance. The Senate passed a joint resolution of disapproval under the Congressional Review Act (CRA) on the following day, thereby sending the resolution…
On April 20, 2018, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) each announced settlements totaling $1 billion with a national bank resulting from a coordinated action between the two agencies. The OCC found that deficiencies in the bank’s enterprise-wide compliance risk management program…
On April 19, 2018, the Illinois Attorney General’s Office (“Illinois AG”) announced that it had filed a complaint against a Nevada-based company that claimed to “purchase” portions of consumers’ pension plans. According to the complaint, these transactions constituted predatory installment loans with excessive interests rates in violation of Illinois law. The complaint alleges that the…
On April 2, 2018, the Superior Court of Suffolk County, Massachusetts denied Equifax, Inc.’s motion to dismiss the Commonwealth’s case against it related to the company’s widely publicized 2017 data breach. Although the ruling does not determine who will ultimately prevail in the action, it outlines several key considerations for…
On April 12, 2018, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced proposed settlements with three marketers for illegal debt relief and loan services. In May 2017, the FTC filed an action against the three marketers and eleven related corporate entities claiming that the defendants engaged in a wide-scale debt relief scheme…
On April 4, Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr (“Georgia AG”) announced an $8.5 million settlement with a national debt collector, resolving allegations that the company violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) and the Georgia Fair Business Practices Act. The Georgia AG had alleged that the company harassed and deceived consumers…
On March 15, 2018, in Chamber of Com. of the U.S. v. U.S. Dep’t. of Labor (No. 17-10238, 5th Cir. Mar. 15, 2018), the Fifth Circuit entered an order enjoining enforcement of the Department of Labor’s (DOL) fiduciary rule (Fiduciary Rule), finding that the DOL exceeded its statutory authority in…
On March 28, 2018, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) announced it had filed a lawsuit in the Central District of California against an auto lender for allegedy repossessing the vehicles of members of the armed forces protected by the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (“SCRA”), 50 U.S.C. § 3952. According to the complaint,…
On March 28, 2018, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”) announced settlements with a bank and an affiliated lender (“Defendants”) relating to allegations of deceptive lending practices. According to the FDIC, the Defendants provided, as “debt-settlement products,” loans to borrowers who were heavily indebted, which loans had settlement fees of up…
On March 15, 2018, the U.S. Senate passed the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief and Consumer Protection Act (S-2155)–a bipartisan bill that LenderLaw Watch reported on as a piece of legislation to watch back in December. In general, the bill seeks to reduce compliance obligations for smaller financial institutions while maintaining…