Credit Unions Gain Top Share Of Auto Lending In U.S. For First Time Ever

In the third quarter of 2022, credit unions earned the largest share of automotive financing in the U.S., surpassing banks and other lenders in the amount of auto loans and leases produced, according to Experian.

You have one new message: FCC finds ringless voicemails are subject to the TCPA

In a unanimous Declaratory Ruling and Order (Order) issued on November 21, 2022, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) found that a “ringless voicemail,” which delivers a message directly to a consumer’s voicemail, constitutes a “call” under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA).¹ 

Connecticut Department of Banking Fines Law Firm $100,000 for Collecting Without a License

On December 1, the Connecticut Department of Banking issued a cease and desist order to the Law Offices of David M. Katz mandating the law firm cease conducting collection activities in the state without a license. The law firm was also fined $100,000, the maximum allowed by law.

CARDINAL CREDIT UNION RANKED 2ND NATIONALLY IN AWARD FROM CREDIT UNION NATIONAL ASSOCIATION

MENTOR, Ohio, Dec. 14, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Cardinal Credit Union, a member-owned, not-for-profit financial cooperative serving the community through high performance banking products and services, announced today it has been recognized by the Credit Union National Association (CUNA) with the second overall national ranking for the 2022 Desjardins Youth Award in the category of $250MM to $1B in assets. Cardinal Credit Union is the only credit union in Ohio and one of just 10 nationally to receive this honor.

ACA Urges Congress to Consider Concerns with CFPB Actions During Chopra’s Testimony This Week

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Rohit Chopra will testify in two hearings on Capitol Hill this week, starting with the House Financial Services Committee (HFSC).

CFPB to issue $95 million in redress to consumers harmed by Premier Student Loan Center

The CFPB will distribute over $95 million in redress to over 87,000 consumers harmed by Consumer Advocacy Center Inc., d/b/a Premier Student Loan Center, and related companies (Premier). Premier operated its student loan debt relief enterprise through multiple corporate entities and under multiple names, including co-defendants True Count Staffing Inc., d/b/a SL Account Management; and Prime Consulting LLC, d/b/a Financial Preparation Services.

CBA: Most consumers want more oversight for crypto, fintech firms

Nearly 90% of Americans are concerned that crypto and fintech companies aren’t held to the same regulatory standards as traditional banks, according to a Consumer Bankers Association (CBA) survey released Tuesday.

America’s Household Income Continues Three-Quarter Slide

U.S. household income declined this summer for the third straight quarter as stock prices fell. That's according to the Federal Reserve's latest Financial Accounts of the United States report, which showed that the net worth of the country's households and non-profits dropped to $143.3 trillion in this year's third quarter.

Inflation cooled more than expected in November

Tuesday brought some encouraging news on the stubbornly high prices that have weighed down Americans: Inflation as measured by the Consumer Price Index cooled considerably in November and is at its lowest level in nearly a year.

CFPB and FHFA Publish Updated Data from the National Survey of Mortgage Originations for Public Use

 – The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) today published updated loan-level data for public use collected through the National Survey of Mortgage Originations (NSMO). The data also provide updated mortgage performance and credit information for a nationally representative sample of mortgage borrowers from 2013 to 2020.

Consumers harmed by fraudulent student loan debt-relief services will receive payments

If you were one of the more than 23,000 people who were charged unlawful advance fees by five student loan debt-relief companies—Docu Prep Center d/b/a Certified Document Center, Certified Doc Prep Services, Assure Direct Services, Direct Document Solutions, and Secure Preparation Services—that were associated with Monster Loans and Lend Tech Loans, you may receive a check in the mail starting December 12, 2022. Payments will be sent from Epiq Systems.

Arizona State Court Issues Show Cause Order: Will Review Constitutionality of Arizona Protection from Predatory Debt Collection Act

On December 5, an Arizona Superior Court for Maricopa County issued an Order to Show Cause to the state of Arizona and scheduled an expedited evidentiary hearing in a suit challenging the newly passed Arizona Protection from Predatory Debt Collection Act (the Act), also known as Proposition 209. Arizona voters passed the Act in the November midterm elections and it became effective on December 5, the same day the suit and show cause order were filed.

Attorney General Cameron Urges FCC to Reduce Unwanted Text Messages from Fraudulent Numbers

FRANKFORT, Ky. (December 12, 2022) – Attorney General Cameron today joined a bipartisan coalition of 51 attorneys general in urging the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to continue its efforts to reduce unwanted text messages from fraudulent numbers.

Another Big Bank Gets Into Small-Dollar Loans

Wells Fargo, which operates more than 4,700 branches throughout the U.S., has rolled out a small-dollar loan program that offers instant, automated loans received in minutes and with a fraction of the fees typically attached to payday loans.

Veros Credit Files Notice of Data Breach Affecting Consumers’ Social Security Numbers

On December 8, 2022, Veros Credit reported a data breach with the Texas Attorney General’s office after the company learned that an unauthorized party was able to access confidential consumer information that had been entrusted to the company. According to Veros, the breach resulted in affected consumers’ names, addresses, Social Security numbers, driver’s license numbers, financial account information, insurance information and medical information being compromised.

Teleperformance USA Notifies Consumers of Leaked Social Security Numbers Following Recent Data Breach

On December 8, 2022, Teleperformance USA reported a data breach with the Texas Attorney General after learning that an unauthorized party had accessed confidential consumer information that was entrusted to the company. According to Teleperformance USA, the breach resulted in the names, addresses and Social Security numbers being compromised.

CFPB Proposes Registry to Detect Repeat Offenders

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) proposed requiring certain nonbank financial firms to register with the CFPB when they become subject to certain local, state, or federal consumer financial protection agency or court orders. The CFPB has further proposed to publish the orders and company information via an online registry. 

CFPB Intends to Clear Way for New State Laws Requiring Cost Disclosures in Commercial Transactions

On December 7, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) published a notice of intent to make a preemption determination on whether the Truth in Lending Act (TILA) preempts a New York commercial financing law. The CFPB has made a preliminary conclusion that the law is not preempted by TILA, and is also considering whether to make a preemption determination regarding similar state laws in California, Utah, and Virginia.

CFPB makes preliminary determinations that Truth in Lending Act does not preempt New York, California, Utah, and Virginia commercial financing disclosure laws

In a notice of “Intent to Make Preemption Determination under the Truth in Lending Act (Regulation Z),” the CFPB announced that it is seeking comments on its preliminary determinations that the Truth in Lending Act (TILA) does not preempt certain provisions of the New York Commercial Finance Disclosure Law (CFDL) or the commercial financing laws of California, Utah, and Virginia. 

LexisNexis Risk Solutions State of Fraud, Identity Report Reveals Surge in Fraudulent Activities

LexisNexis Risk Solutions released the results of its first Global State of Fraud and Identity Report, exploring research and insights from industry experts “on recent statistics and trends from [their] industry-recognized studies on the Global True Cost of Fraud and transaction data from over 39B transactions from the LexisNexis Digital Identity Network® from January 2022 to June 2022.”

Reg F Question of the Week: How Long is a Consumer’s Direct Prior Consent Valid?

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has published Debt Collection Rule FAQs for Regulation F, containing questions and answers that pertain to compliance with the rule. The FAQs cover limited-content messages, call frequency issues and more.

Arizona State Court Issues Show Cause Order: Will Review Constitutionality of Arizona Protection from Predatory Debt Collection Act

On December 5, an Arizona Superior Court for Maricopa County issued an Order to Show Cause to the state of Arizona and scheduled an expedited evidentiary hearing in a suit challenging the newly passed Arizona Protection from Predatory Debt Collection Act (the Act), also known as Proposition 209. Arizona voters passed the Act in the November midterm elections and it became effective on December 5, the same day the suit and show cause order were filed.

Wing Financial Files Notice of Data Breach Affecting Over 240k Clients

On December 1, 2022, Wing Financial (an independently owned franchise of Jackson Hewitt) reported a data breach with the Maine Attorney General after confirming that an unauthorized party was able to access confidential consumer information that had been entrusted to the company.

New York Telemarketing Law Requires Immediate Disclosure of DNC Right

In December 2022, New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed a bill into law that requires telemarketers to advise consumers at the very beginning of telemarketing calls of their right to be placed on the company’s Do-Not-Call (DNC) list. This amends existing law (Section 399-Z) that had required telemarketers to disclose the right to be added to the seller’s entity-specific DNC list during a call but had not stipulated when the disclosure had to be made.

Arizona judge puts part of Proposition 209, which gives medical debt relief, on hold

Arizonans overwhelmingly approved ballot Proposition 209, which reduces the maximum interest rate on medical debt, but a judge has halted the measure from taking full effect, at least for now.

Kinecta Federal Credit Union Recognized by the 2022 Rochester Choice Awards

ROCHESTER, N.Y., Dec. 9, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Democrat & Chronicle, hosts of the annual Rochester Choice Awards, asked the Rochester community to vote for the best businesses and organizations in the area. Kinecta Federal Credit Union was selected as a finalist for Best Credit Union, meaning many Rochester residents made Kinecta their first choice for their banking needs.

You can help caregivers spot illegal nursing home debt collection tactics

There are 48 million family members and friends providing support to an adult in the United States. It’s important for caregivers to understand their rights, especially when it comes to helping a loved one gain admission to a nursing home. Some nursing homes and debt collectors are billing and suing caregivers for residents’ cost of care based on illegal admission contracts. Whether you’re a long-term care ombudsman, care coordinator, elder law attorney, or other aging services provider, you can play a part in protecting caregivers.

OCC judge recommends $18.5M in fines for 3 ex-Wells Fargo execs

Three former Wells Fargo executives should pay $18.5 million in fines over their alleged roles in the bank’s 2016 fake-accounts scandal, an in-house judge for the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) recommended in a decision released Wednesday.

Understanding Significant Changes Under PCI DSS 4.0

For PCI-certified organizations, Significant Changes are a common source of confusion, both what is considered a Significant Change and what is required by PCI when one has taken place. In the PCI DSS 4.0, a Significant Change is defined as:

CFPB Investigates Crypto Lender

On December 1, 2022, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (Bureau) made public an administrative order denying Nexo Financial LLC’s (Nexo) petition to modify the Bureau’s civil investigative demand.  The order represents the first publicly known Bureau investigation of a digital asset company, in this case, over Nexo’s “Earn Interest” crypto lending product.

FTC, State of Florida Act To Permanently Shut Down Grant Bae Business Grant Scam

The operators of an alleged grant scam called Grant Bae that targeted minority-owned businesses will face a permanent ban from grant-writing and business consulting services as a result of a lawsuit brought against them by the Federal Trade Commission and the State of Florida.

Update on state laws on lending to businesses

In the run-up to the 2008 financial crisis, federal banking regulators took numerous steps to undermine state regulators and enforcers. For example, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the now-defunct Office of Thrift Supervision took steps to nullify state laws protecting the public from predatory mortgage lending. This proved to be catastrophic.

Collections Industry Sees Significant Split Between Large and Small Firms’ Investments in Customer Contact Channels

More than one in three (37%) collections firms are now using text/SMS messaging — a modest increase from last year when 31% were utilizing this communications channel with consumers.

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RMAi 2023 Annual Conference

Join us in Las Vegas, February 6-9, for the 2023 RMAI Annual Conference. Registration opens October 3, 2022.