Republican House Financial Services Members to CFPB: Rescind Actions Impacting Consumer Protection and Nonbank Entities

Republican members of the House Financial Services Committee (HFSC) have called on Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Rohit Chopra to rescind actions related to nonbank entities that exceed the bureau’s statutory authority.

Federal Student Loan Delinquency and Default: What to Know

Delinquency paves the way to default when it comes to repaying student loans, and millions of Americans who borrowed to fund their postsecondary education find themselves on that problematic path each year.

Credit Unions Set Sights on Financial Wellness for 2022

For credit unions, helping consumers achieve financial wellness will be top-of-mind in 2023. But as Yvonne Stelpflug, senior vice president of Advisors Plus Consulting at PSCU, told PYMNTS, CUs will need to grapple with any number of challenges of their own as they seek to help end users navigate macro-economic pressures

Truth in Lending Act (Regulation Z) Adjustment to Asset-Size Exemption Threshold

The Bureau is amending the official commentary that interprets the requirements of the Bureau’s Regulation Z (Truth in Lending) to reflect a change in the asset-size threshold for certain creditors to qualify for an exemption to the requirement to establish an escrow account for a higher-priced mortgage loan based on the annual percentage change in the average of the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) for the 12-month period ending in November.

Civil Penalty Inflation Adjustments

The Bureau is adjusting for inflation the maximum amount of each civil penalty within the Bureau’s jurisdiction. These adjustments are required by the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990, as amended by the Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996 and further amended by the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015. The inflation adjustments mandated by the Inflation Adjustment Act serve to maintain the deterrent effect of civil penalties and to promote compliance with the law. 

Home Mortgage Disclosure (Regulation C) Adjustment to Asset-Size Exemption Threshold

The Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (Bureau) is issuing a final rule amending the official commentary that interprets the requirements of the Bureau's Regulation C (Home Mortgage Disclosure) to reflect the asset-size exemption threshold for banks, savings associations, and credit unions based on the annual percentage change in the average of the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W). 

More debt and fewer rewards: Credit card trends to watch in 2023

If you want a good prediction of tomorrow’s economy, watch what moves credit card issuers make today. “It’s almost like watching a crystal ball to some extent,” John Ulzhemier, a credit expert formerly of FICO and Equifax, says of card issuers. “They are usually ahead of the curve with respect to reacting to downturns in the economy.”

Arizona Proposition 209, which addressed medical and other debt, faces legal challenge

(The Center Square) – Arizona voters on Nov. 8 approved Proposition 209 with 72% of the vote. The citizen-initiated measure is designed to reduce interest rates on debt accrued from receiving healthcare services, as well as increase the value of certain property and assets exempt from debt collection processes.

WEBRECON STATS FOR NOV ’22

November 2022 was a mixed bag for litigation. FDCPA (-10.4%) and FCRA (-2.4%) lawsuits were both down for the month, but TCPA (+4.5%) lawsuits had a mini (and relatively uncharacteristic) surge. Year-to-date, FDCPA (-31%!) and TCPA (-11.2%) continued year-over-year declines, while FCRA (+4.1%) is still trending up. CFPB complaints were down both for the month (-10.4%) and for the year (-17.4%).

98M Consumers Plan to Finance Holiday Gifts This Year

Gift giving is on everyone’s mind, and financing what they’ll spend on holiday gifts is, too. The holidays are fully here, and Christmas is but two days away. As 2022 has been marked by rampant inflation and macro pressures, spending patterns are looking a bit different this year.

AG Healey Secures $975,000 From Mortgage Company Over Allegations of Unlawful Mortgage Servicing and Debt Collection Practices

BOSTON — A South Carolina mortgage servicing company will pay $975,000 and change its business practices to resolve allegations that the company failed to make required efforts to help homeowners avoid foreclosure and engaged in other unfair debt collection and mortgage servicing practices, Attorney General Maura Healey announced today.  

TCPA Turnstile: 2022 Year in Review (TCPA Case Update Vol. 17)

As 2022 comes to a close, we wanted to look back at the most significant Telephone Consumer Protection Act, 47 U.S.C. § 227 (“TCPA”) decisions of the year.  While we didn’t see the types of landscape-altering decisions that we saw in 2021, there’s still plenty to take note of.  We summarize here the biggest developments since our last update, listed by issue category in alphabetical order.

U.S. New Vehicle Sales to Fall in December as High Prices Deter Buyers – Report

(Reuters) - U.S. total new vehicle retail sales are expected to decline in December as high vehicle prices and rising borrowing costs pushed consumers to cut back spending, a report from industry consultants J.D. Power-LMC Automotive showed on Wednesday.

Illinois App. Court (1st Dist) Rejects Challenge to Foreclosure Affidavit Based on Reliance on Prior Servicer’s Records

The Appellate Court of Illinois, First District, recently upheld a trial court’s order granting a mortgagee’s motion for summary judgment, judgment of foreclosure, sale, and order confirming the foreclosure sale.

CFPB Orders Servicio UniTeller to Refund Fees and Pay Penalty for Failing to Follow Remittance Rules

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued an order against Servicio UniTeller, an international remittance company, for multiple violations of the requirements governing electronic money transfers, including failing to refund customers after the company made money transfer errors.

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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.