Bank regulator will now offer national approvals to financial tech firms

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) announced Tuesday that it would now consider bank charter applications from financial technology companies seeking approval to operate nationwide.

Treasury calls for sweeping changes in fintech, end to payday-lending rule

The Treasury Department on Tuesday released its blueprint for regulating financial technology, a sweeping document that could influence policy in the emerging industry for years to come.  The recommendations include the endorsement of so-called regulatory sandboxes, which would allow companies to experiment with new services that push the boundaries of current law.

OCC Begins Accepting National Bank Charter Applications From Financial Technology Companies

WASHINGTON — The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) today announced it will begin accepting applications for national bank charters from nondepository financial technology (fintech) companies engaged in the business of banking.

DCS2018 Early Bird Rate Ends August 3!

Debt Connection Symposium and Expo 2018 will be held on September 5 – 7, 2018 at the JW Marriott Austin in Austin, Texas.

There is an early bird rate of $1,295 that will end on Friday, August 3, 2018, and on August 4, the rate goes up to $1,395. Register today at
www.debtconnectionsymposium.com to get that early bird rate!

FTC Action Halts Phony Grants Operation

At the Federal Trade Commission’s request, a federal court has halted a telemarketing scheme that took at least $3 million from consumers, including elderly and disabled persons, who sought help with paying personal expenses, such as credit card debts, medical bills, and home repairs.

Callers Beware: Direct Drop Voicemails Fall Within the Purview of TCPA Liability Says District Court

Direct drop voicemails – voicemails that hit your phone without it even ringing – are a hot topic these days. They were one of the main subjects of consumer complaints to the FCC in response to the May Public Notice seeking comment on the interpretation and implementation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”) on remand from the D.C. Circuit’s March ruling in ACA Int’l. Is a direct drop voicemail a “call” under the TCPA, as compared to a text message, which we know does constitute a call? While the FCC has yet to weigh in, in the first judicial opinion on the subject, a federal court in the Western District of Michigan found they were in Saunders v. Dyck O’Neal, 17-cv-335, 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 121076 (W.D. Mich. July 16, 2018).

Gov. John Kasich signs payday lending bill

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Gov. John Kasich signed a bill Monday that promises to save Ohio consumers millions in payday loan interest rates and fees.  House Bill 123 will go into effect in late October.  The Fairness in Lending Act will close a loophole that payday lenders have been using to skirt the state's 28 percent APR on loans. The Pew Charitable Trusts says Ohio's average rate is 591 percent, a figure the industry disputes.

Treasury Releases Report on Nonbank Financials, Fintech, and Innovation

Washington –The U.S. Department of the Treasury today released a report identifying improvements to the regulatory landscape that will better support nonbank financial institutions, embrace financial technology, and foster innovation.

SEC proposes rule changes to disclosure requirements for debt offerings

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) proposed last week amendments to streamline the financial disclosure requirements for debt offerings for guarantors and issuers of guaranteed securities.  Specifically, the amendments are to Rules 3-10 and 3-16 of Regulation S-X. The idea is to focus disclosures on information that is material to investors, make them easier to understand and reduce the costs and burdens for registrants. The SEC says the amendments should encourage issuers to register debt offerings while providing investors with protections that are not present in unregistered offerings.

Pennsylvania AG Files Loan Mod Fraud Lawsuit

Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro has filed a lawsuit against five mortgage foreclosure companies within the state and two company owners for loan modification fraud that resulted in some homeowners losing their properties.

Experian Invests $28M In FinTech Lender C88

C88 Financial Technologies (C88) announced that it has received an over-subscribed $28 million in a Series C investment from Experian.  Other investors in the round include responsAbility Investments, DEG, InterVest, FengHe Fund Management, Pelago Capital and Fuchsia Venture Capital, as well as existing investors Monk’s Hill Ventures, Telstra Ventures, Kickstart Ventures and Kejora Ventures.  C88 operates Indonesia’s CekAja.com and Philippines’s eCompareMo.com — both are their respective country’s top financial marketplaces. 

TCPA Update – Predictive Dialer Held Not To Be An ATDS

This Stroock Special Bulletin provides an update with respect to litigation involving the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”). Recently, a district court held that a predictive dialing system, a system commonly used and often the subject of TCPA litigation, does not fall within the scope of the TCPA.

FCC Names Chief Economist

FCC chair Ajit Pai has named Babette Boliek FCC chief economist. Boliek is a law professor and the associate dean of faculty research at Pepperdine University School of Law. Boliek succeeds Jerry Ellig, who is heading back to academia. Her writings include several law journal articles challenging the FCC's 2015 Open Internet Order, which the Pai FCC has rolled back using some similar arguments.

Local resident receives Navient’s quarterly leadership award

Presented by President and CEO Jack Remondi, the award is given to one company leader who demonstrates excellence in business, people, results and personal leadership. “Cathy is a well-respected manager and colleague who values opinions, challenges the status-quo and taps into employee strengths to make things happen,” said Remondi. Despite her 26-year tenure, Wotring never says, "That is how we've always done it.” Instead, she encourages her colleagues to engage in innovative thinking when considering the best solution.

Will the CFPB Consumer Complaint Database Survive? Stakeholders Weigh In

The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act created the Bureau and required it to establish a database to collect and monitor complaints regarding consumer financial products and services. While Dodd-Frank does not specifically state that the complaints must be made public, former CFPB director Richard Cordray took the position that the database should be publicly available. Since 2011, more than one million complaints have been submitted

Senators Urge FCC to Issue New TCPA Rules

Seven members of the Senate Commerce Committee — including Chairman John Thune (R-S.D.) — this week urged the Federal Communications Commission to issue new rules to ensure that consumers can receive important communications from their banks and other businesses.  The letter was submitted as the FCC considers issuing new Telephone Consumer Protection Act rules after a federal appellate court in March struck down two key aspects of the FCC’s prior rules.  “The FCC must make it more workable for legitimate businesses to stay in communication with consumers in a timely and effective manner,” the senators wrote. 

What You Need to Know about GDPR and the 72-Hour Breach Notification

Most GDPR news stories over the past year highlighted the potential €20,000,000 fines and the new 72-hour breach notification requirement. Yes, those are provocative highlights that generate clicks and views, but they don’t provide much guidance for organizations, security compliance officers, and IT security professionals who need to develop a GDPR data breach response plan.  As stated in a previous blog (What GDPR Compliance means to the IT Security Professional), most of the GDPR concerns organizational measures related to processes, policy, and documentation—not IT Security. But certainly, we can agree that detecting breaches and promptly alerting authorities and individuals falls on the lap of the IT Security professional, right? Nope. Not exactly.

Seven contenders to become next FHFA chief

WASHINGTON — If you want to predict the future for the mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, you need to first start with who President Trump will nominate to serve as the next head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency.  The next director of the FHFA is still a mystery, but whoever succeeds current Director Mel Watt once his term ends in January will have a front-and-center role in efforts to reform the government-sponsored enterprises.

TWO MORE ROUND TABLE SESSIONS ADDED TO DEBT CONNECTION SYMPOSIUM & EXPO

Collections.  Compliance.  Effectiveness – The Great Debate takes center stage at DCS2018!  In addition: We’re happy to announce two more round table sessions added to Debt Connection Symposium & Expo.   Debbie Venderley with LoanMe and Michael Zachau with T-Mobile will facilitate roundtables on Due Diligence and OCA Compliance Management.

Our early bird rate ends August 3^rd, so act now, and don’t miss.  You can register online at: https://debtconnectionsymposium.com/registration.html . The full schedule can be seen at:  https://www.debtconnectionsymposium.com/

Federal judge sides with Weltman, Weinberg & Reis Co. in CFPB lawsuit

Weltman, Weinberg & Reis Co., a Cleveland-based law firm, has been exonerated in a lawsuit brought against it by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau that charged the debt collector with engaging in illegal debt collection practices. At the heart of the case was an allegation that the firm falsely represented its attorneys' involvement in consumers' individual cases.

7 cybersecurity questions to help protect your clients’ data

To protect confidential information in these times of frequent cyberattacks, companies are investing more time and resources into making sure they have cybersecurity plans in place. You can help protect your clients by ensuring their benefits providers have measures in place to protect information.
Some believe that limiting the number of providers companies work with is the answer, but that doesn’t address the actual issue. One provider with less-than-stellar security measures can put a company in much greater danger than three providers with industry-leading cybersecurity measures in place.

Now its Sirius: New District Court Ruling Dismisses TCPA Suit and Holds that Predictive Dialer Calls Are Not Robocalls Covered by the TCPA

In another blow to TCPA Plaintiffs hoping to make use of the FCC’s 2003 and 2008 Predictive Dialer rulings after ACA Int’l, a federal district court in the Northern District of Illinois held today that those rulings were categorically set aside. The decision in Pinkus v. Sirius Xm Radio, 16 C 10858, 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 125043 (N.D. Ill. July 26, 2018) represents the latest entry in a growing list of cases finding that the TCPA no longer covers dialers that call from lists, but only those that randomly or sequentially generate numbers to be called. And Pinkus is different in that the Court clearly and thoroughly analyzes all pertinent issues and reaches a stark conclusion–TCPA complaints alleging the use of a predictive dialer do not survive the pleadings stage.

Lawmakers pass new consumer protection regulations after Equifax, other credit breaches

In the wake of data breaches at major companies, including the credit monitoring service Equifax, Massachusetts is poised to adopt new regulations to protect consumers.  A bill that passed the Legislature on Wednesday and is headed to Gov. Charlie Baker's desk would give consumers free credit freezes at any time. It would require businesses that are breached to provide a period of free credit monitoring.

Ponemon: Mega breaches, data breach costs on the rise

The Ponemon Institute's latest study on data breach costs highlights the rise of what it calls "mega breaches," which are the worst types of security incidents in terms of costs and data exposed.  The "2018 Cost of a Data Breach Study: Global Overview," which was sponsored by IBM Security, details the cost enterprises incur after falling victim to a data breach and found that the average total cost of a data breach rose from $3.62 to $3.86 million -- a 6.4% increase -- with $148 as the average cost per lost or stolen record.

FTC Testifies before Two House Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittees About the Agency’s Work to Combat Payment Processors Who Facilitate Fraud

In testimony before the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on National Security and Subcommittee on Government Operations, the Federal Trade Commission described its law enforcement program to fight consumer fraud, and the Commission’s actions against payment processors that facilitate fraud.

Gov. John Kasich says he’ll likely sign payday lending bill

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Gov. John Kasich said Wednesday morning that while he still needs to review in detail the bill reining in payday lending, he will likely sign it.  "From what I understand, it's a pretty good bill," he said during an event kicking off the Ohio State Fair. "I'll have a chance to examine it and look forward to signing it."

AG Hood Launches Lawsuit Against Student Loan Lenders

Attorney General Jim Hood and the Mississippi Center for Justice are fighting in court for thousands of Mississippians who were financially affected by deceptive student loan lender Navient Corporation from 2000 to present. The pair filed a lawsuit last week against the company and its subsidiaries, Navient Solutions, LLC, and Sallie Mae Bank, alleging widespread abuses across all aspects of its student loan business, including misleading borrowers about payment options that resulted in higher monthly payments that many could not afford.

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