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 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 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 12, 2018, the California Department of Business Oversight (California DBO) announced that it reached a settlement with a payday lender over allegations that the lender improperly raised the principal value of its vehicle-secured loans to avoid interest rate caps imposed by the California Finance Law, Fin. Code §…
On March 7, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) announced that it reached a settlement with a Delaware bank, resolving allegations that the bank engaged in unfair and deceptive practices in violation of Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act (the “FTC Act”) and violated the Electronic Funds Transfer Act,…
On February 23, 2018, the Office of the Attorney General of Virginia (“Virginia AG”) announced that it had entered into a settlement agreement with several affiliated online payday lenders and debt collection companies (the “Defendants”). According to the Virginia AG, the Defendants, all out-of-state organizations, provided short-term, small-dollar loans to borrowers in Virginia…
On February 22, 2018, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) announced that it had entered into a settlement with an auto financial services company for alleged violations of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (“SCRA”), 50 U.S.C. § 3955(f) relating to upfront leases. In its complaint, filed the same day in the United States District…
Goodwin announces the release of its third annual Consumer Finance Year in Review, an in-depth report that analyzes the principal litigation, enforcement actions and regulations that have impacted the consumer finance industry over the prior year. This report synthesizes Goodwin’s consumer finance coverage from 2017 and offers predictions and insights…