Texas Joins the Consumer Privacy Parade

Texas became the tenth state to enact comprehensive consumer privacy legislation (and the fifth state to do so in 2023). This alert discusses certain key features of the Texas Data Privacy and Security Act, including a high-level summary of the requirements for businesses that are subject to the law.

CFPB’s Office of Servicemember Affairs Issues Annual Report Highlighting Complaints Related to Payment App Fraud

On June 20, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB or Bureau) Office of Servicemember Affairs published its Annual Report analyzing complaints submitted by servicemembers, veterans, and their families in 2022.

Ninth Circuit affirms district court’s denial of preliminary injunction to block enforcement of Nevada medical debt collection law

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, in a 2-1 decision, recently affirmed the district court’s decision denying the plaintiffs’ motion for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction to block enforcement of Nevada Senate Bill 248 (S.B. 248).

NCUA Board Approves Proposal on MDI Preservation Program

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (June 22, 2023) – The National Credit Union Administration Board held its sixth open meeting of 2023 and approved a proposal about the agency’s minority depository institution preservation program and a notice and request for comment on the NCUA operating fee schedule methodology. The NCUA Board also was briefed on efforts to modernize the chartering process for federal credit unions.

‘Do not text’: New TN law that takes effect July 1 aims to end unwanted texts

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — In the modern age, text messages have become a new way for telemarketers to try to get around laws banning them from reaching out to people with unsolicited sales pitches.

NCLA Asks Supreme Court to Reverse Second Circuit, Hold CFPB’s Funding Method Unconstitutional

Washington, D.C., June 22, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is an outlier agency, and the U.S. Supreme Court should overturn its illegitimate funding method, the New Civil Liberties Alliance argues in a petition for a writ of certiorari filed in the case of Law Offices of Crystal Moroney v. CFPB. In October, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit decided in Community Financial Services Assoc. of America, Ltd. v. CFPB that the agency’s funding structure violates the Appropriations Clause of the U.S. Constitution.

Jaw-Dropping Stats About the State of Debt in America

Most Americans have some credit card debt. A recent GOBankingRates survey found that 30% of Americans have between $1,001 and $5,000 in credit card debt, 15% have $5,001 or more in credit card debt and about 6% have more than $10,000 in credit card debt.

SchoolsFirst Federal Credit Union Celebrates a Year of Giving to Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals

TUSTIN, CA / ACCESSWIRE / June 22, 2023 / SchoolsFirst Federal Credit Union, the largest credit union serving school employees and their families, today announced that it donated and raised $345,122 in 2022 to support Children's Miracle Network Hospitals (CMNH), including UC Davis Children's Hospital, Children's Health of Orange County (CHOC), Children's Hospital Los Angeles and Rady Children's Hospital - San Diego.

New York lawmakers OK bill removing medical debt from credit reports

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — Hospitals and other health care providers in New York would be banned from reporting medical debt to credit agencies under a bill passed this week by the state's legislature — a measure intended to limit the damage that illness and injury can do to someone's financial health.

Attorney General Bonta Applauds Department of Education’s Strongest-Ever Proposed Gainful Employment Rule

OAKLAND — California Attorney General Rob Bonta today led a coalition of 21 attorneys general in submitting a comment letter to the U.S. Department of Education, applauding its strongest-ever proposed Gainful Employment Rule. Originally issued by the Obama Administration in 2012, the Gainful Employment Rule aims to protect students by, among other things, establishing expectations that graduates of for-profit colleges and of career-training programs at nonprofit colleges earn enough money to meaningfully pay back their federal student loans.

FTC Files Amicus Brief in CFPB Action Opposing Efforts to Weaken Equal Credit Opportunity Act

The Federal Trade Commission filed a friend-of-the-court (amicus) brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit challenging a district court ruling that invalidated a key anti-discrimination rule in the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA).

FTC Staff Files Comment on U.S. Department of Education’s Proposed Regulations to Protect Postsecondary Education Students

The staff of the Federal Trade Commission’s Bureau of Consumer Protection filed a comment today with the U.S. Department of Educationregarding the U.S. Department of Education’s proposed regulations to protect postsecondary students in the education marketplace.

CFPB Eyes Consumer Payment Markets for Supervision and Examinations

The CFPB's latest regulatory agenda signals that it is considering rules to define larger participants in markets for consumer payments, to be published in July 2023. This action, if implemented, would represent a sea change for consumer payments providers, and would result in larger providers being subjected to agency supervision and examination.

Barr eyes reverse stress tests, quicker intervention

The Federal Reserve may hire behavioral scientists and experiment with reverse stress testing as part of a focused effort to tweak its bank supervision process throughout the rest of this year, Michael Barr, the central bank’s vice chair for supervision, said at an event Tuesday held by the New York Fed.

FTC alleges Amazon enrolled people in Prime without consent and thwarted members’ attempts to cancel

In the latest action to challenge alleged digital dark patterns, the FTC has sued Amazon for enrolling people in its Prime program without the consumer’s consent. Once consumers were signed up, the complaint also charges that Amazon set up online obstacles that made it difficult for them to cancel their Prime subscription.

It’s official: Student loan payments will restart in October, Education Department says

Over the three-year-long pause on student loan payments, the U.S. Department of Education has repeatedly told borrowers their bills were set to resume, only to take it back and provide them more time.

CFPB Releases Reports on Banking Access and Consumer Finance in Southern States

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) today issued two new reports on the financial opportunities and challenges facing Southern communities. The Southern U.S. is home to diverse populations, including many rural areas.

Banking and Credit Access in the Southern Region of the U.S

This Data Spotlight analyzes banking and credit access in the southern region of the U.S. It seeks to identify gaps, as well as opportunities to increase financial access in the region, particularly branch presence and bank account access, and capital access such as mortgage lending and small business lending.

Private Credit Deep Dives – Leverage Covenants and Auto-Resets

As the private credit industry has relentlessly expanded and the capital available for deployment by private credit asset managers has rapidly grown, those investing at the top end of the market have increasingly had to compete on terms with the financing packages offered by underwriting banks for broadly syndicated deals.

Americans are facing ‘triple trouble’ from credit card debt, with more cards, bigger balances, and higher rates than ever

According to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, total credit card balance stayed around a record $986 billion between fourth quarter 2022 and first quarter 2023. A January Bankrate survey further found 35% of of American adults carry some credit card debt.

New York could change how medical debt impacts consumers

Credit reporting agencies would be prohibited from collecting medical debt, nor would it be included in a consumer's credit report under legislation that will be heading to Gov. Kathy Hochul's desk. 

Special report from S&P Global Mobility: Auto-finance delinquencies rise past Great Recession peak, but…

SOUTHFIELD, Mich., June 20, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- With American households battling inflation and rising interest rates, auto lenders are seeing increased occurrences of auto-loan delinquencies - but almost entirely in the subprime segment.…

Worker Surveillance Poses Potential Privacy Harms

The CFPB has heard from the public about the risks to workers’ privacy that arise from automated workplace surveillance technology. For many workers, simply going to work to earn a living means putting vast amounts of their vital and personal information into the hands of their employers or third-party technology firms.

Desert Financial Named a Forbes Best-In-State Credit Union

PHOENIX, June 20, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Forbes named Desert Financial Credit Union as a Best-In-State Credit Union in 2023 and the top credit union in Arizona for the fifth year in a row.

Credit Unions Can Win With Crypto via Education, Says PSCU

In the face of ongoing regulatory scrutiny and volatile market swings, the crypto landscape has shown surprising resiliency coming out of a disastrous 2022. “We’re definitely seeing more interest and more activity,” when it comes to credit union members conducting crypto transactions, Lou Grilli, senior innovation strategist at PSCU, tells PYMNTS.

Identity Crisis: Supreme Court Rules on ‘Identity Theft’ Penalty Enhancement

As part of a suite of statutes, Congress made it a crime to “exceed authorization” to access a computer (CFAA, 18 USC 1030) and to traffic in purloined passwords (18 USC 1029) and “‘Fraud and related activity in connection with identification documents, authentication features, and information’”(18 USC 1028). Congress also created an enhancement to other crimes if, in the course of committing that crime, the offender committed “aggravated identity theft;” that is, essentially, if an offender also misused the identity of another person. 

CFPB Report Identifies Issues with Increased Servicemember Use of Digital Payment Apps

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) released its annual report on the top financial concerns facing military families. 

Fifth Circuit: Barton Doctrine Precluded Litigation by Chapter 7 Debtor Against Bankruptcy Trustee and Counsel

To shield bankruptcy trustees and certain other entities from litigation arising from actions taken in their official capacity, the "Barton doctrine"—now more than a century old—provides that such litigation may be commenced only with the authority of the appointing court.

ODOT: 3.5 million Oregonians may be impacted by DMV data hack

PORTLAND Ore. (KPTV) - A massive global data breach has exposed the personal information of millions of Oregonians who have a DMV-issued identification card. Airlines, banks, universities, foreign governments, other state-level agencies, and more, were all also impacted by the attack.

Student Loans: 14 Million Americans Will Face New Complications As Payments Resume

The federal student loan payment pause that has been in effect for more than three years will soon come to an end regardless of how the U.S. Supreme Court rules on the Biden administration’s loan forgiveness plan. When payments resume, you can expect plenty of complications — and delinquencies.

Report: Credit Card Delinquencies Rise as Consumers Drain Savings

Your card bill might read “2023,” but for credit card delinquency rates, it’s 2019. As Seeking Alpha noted in a report Monday (June 19), those rates now exceed pre-pandemic levels for at least three card companies: Capital One, Discover and Bread Financial.

CFPB Action Dismissed for Bureau Going Out of Bounds on Discovery in District Court Case

The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld a lower court’s decision that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau did not follow the discovery process in a civil case.

Seventh Circuit rules $3.95 in postage spent by plaintiff to respond to second validation notice sufficient to establish FDCPA standing

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has ruled that a plaintiff in a putative class action had standing to assert FDCPA claims against the purchaser of her debt and the purchaser’s servicer based on the $3.95 she paid in postage to respond to a second validation letter after she had already responded to the first validation notice.

Text Carriers Announce New Requirements

Several text message carriers will require companies using 10-digit telephone numbers (10 DLC) for SMS and MMS messages to U.S. consumers to register to an approved campaign under their brand effective July 5, 2023.

OCC Report Identifies Key Risks Facing Federal Banking System

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) today reported the key issues facing the federal banking system in its Semiannual Risk Perspective for Spring 2023.

Alabama ONE Named Credit Union of the Year

Tuscaloosa, AL: Alabama ONE has been named the 2022 Credit Union of the Year among credit unions with more than $500 million in assets by the League of Southeastern Credit Unions (LSCU). The LSCU Awards Committee awards Credit Union of the Year Awards for Alabama, Florida, and Georgia. Recognized as the best Alabama credit union with $500 million and over in total assets, Alabama ONE received the 2018 Credit Union of the Year Award and is now a recipient of this award for the second time.

CFPB and Federal Banking Agencies Propose Quality Control Standards on Automated Valuation Models Used in Underwriting Mortgage Loans

On June 1, 2023, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau along with Federal Reserve, OCC, FDIC, NCUA and FHFA (collectively, the “Agencies”) issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking seeking comment on rules to implement quality control standards for automated valuation models (AVMs) used by residential mortgage originators and secondary market issuers in determining the collateral worth of a mortgage loan that is secured by a consumer’s principal dwelling.

DFPI Reports Continuing Success in Implementation of California Consumer Financial Protection Law

SACRAMENTO – The Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) announced today it has made significant progress growing its reach and impact in key areas affecting California consumers, two years into implementing one of the most expansive consumer financial protection laws in the nation.

District Court puts hold on CFPB’s $2.7 billion request in telemarketer case

On June 7, the U.S District Court for the District of Utah denied the CFPB’s motion for an award of monetary and injunctive relief, assessment of civil money penalties, and final judgment in an action taken against a group of Utah-based credit repair telemarketers and their affiliates (collectively, “defendants”).

CFPB Action Dismissed for Bureau Going Out of Bounds on Discovery in District Court Case

The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld a lower court’s decision that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau did not follow the discovery process in a civil case.

Consumer Rights: Weighing the Pros and Cons of Chargebacks as a First Line of Defense Against Merchant Disputes

TAMPA BAY, Fla., June 19, 2023 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- In 2022, 60% of adults in the U.S. were living paycheck to paycheck, and with inflation at a 40-year high,(1) consumers are pulling out their credit cards more often to keep up. 

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RMAi 2023 Executive Summit

RMAi

Debt Connection Symposium & Expo 2023 – DCS2023

Debt Connection Symposium & Expo has returned for 2023! We are headed back to Las Vegas, September 27th - 29th to network and connect with clients, service providers, product suppliers, agencies, and attorneys - at a whole new level.

CA Credit Union Collectors Council – 36th Annual Conference

CCUCC