FTC Settlements Ban Fraudulent Debt Collectors from Debt Collection Business and from Buying or Selling Debt

The operators of a Georgia-based debt collection business that allegedly used false claims and threats to get people to pay debts – including debts they did not owe or that the defendants had no authority to collect – are banned from the debt collection business and from buying or selling debt, under settlements with the Federal Trade Commission. According to the FTC’s complaint, the defendants’ debt collection business model was based on falsely claiming to consumers that they had committed a crime and would be sued, have their wages garnished, or be put in prison if they did not pay purported debts. In many instances, the defendants collected on debts consumers had already paid or that the defendants otherwise had no authority to collect. They also illegally contacted consumers’ employers and other third parties, and failed to provide written notices and disclaimers required by law.

Consumer protection bureau faces constitutional challenge in Supreme Court

The Obama-era Consumer Financial Protection Bureau faced a legal challenge at the Supreme Court on Thursday to its singe-director format, a setup that Supreme Court nominee Brett M. Kavanaugh has consistently ruled against for placing too much power in the hands of one unaccountable bureaucrat. State National Bank of Big Spring, Texas, along with the nonprofit Competitive Enterprise Institute and the seniors’ advocacy group 60 Plus Association, filed a petition with the high court to hear a lawsuit that seeks to declare the CFPB’s organizational structure unconstitutional. The agency was created in 2010 as part of the Dodd-Frank financial regulatory law.

Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection Releases Latest Supervisory Highlights

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (Bureau) today released its 17th edition of Supervisory Highlights. The report covers Bureau supervision activities generally completed between December 2017 and May 2018, and shares observations in the areas of auto loan servicing, credit card account management, debt collection, mortgage servicing, payday lending, and small business lending.

FTC Hearing #1: Competition and Consumer Protection in the 21st Century

The Federal Trade Commission will begin its Hearings on Competition and Consumer Protection in the 21st Century with two full-day sessions, co-sponsored with and held at the Georgetown University Law Center, on September 13 and 14, 2018. The Georgetown event will be the first in a series of hearings that will examine whether broad-based changes in the economy, evolving business practices, new technologies, or international developments might require adjustments to competition and consumer protection enforcement priorities of the Commission. Many sessions will conclude with an opportunity for those attending the event in-person to submit questions to the participants. These public events, in conjunction with the public comment process, will provide the FTC with a broad and diverse range of viewpoints and stimulate evaluation of key enforcement and policy issues.

New Bill Would Override State Usury Caps for Fintech Companies, Payday Lenders

The House just passed a bill that would override state usury caps on interest rates made by financial technology (fintech) companies or online and payday lenders, but it’s facing opposition from consumer financial protection advocates. The bill — H.R. 3299, also known as the Protecting Consumers’ Access to Credit Act of 2017 — aims to accelerate fintech innovation and encourage business growth. There is a similar bill stalled in the Senate (S. 1642) over consumer financial protection concerns.

Governor Murphy Signs Legislation to Protect Consumers From Out-of-Network Health Services

WOODBRIDGE – Protecting consumers against surprise bills for out-of-network health services, Governor Phil Murphy today signed Assembly Bill No. 2039, which makes changes to several elements of New Jersey’s health care delivery system. These improvements include transparency and enhanced consumer protections, the creation of an arbitration system and cost containments for out-of-network services.

A.G. Underwood Calls On CFPB To Continue Enforcement Of Federal Law To Protect Against Credit Discrimination

NEW YORK – New York Attorney General Barbara D. Underwood – part of a coalition of 14 Attorneys General - called on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and Acting Director Mick Mulvaney to continue protecting the rights of consumers against credit discrimination under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA). The Attorneys General share authority with the CFPB to enforce regulations regarding the ECOA and lead antidiscrimination efforts in their own states. As such, they are calling on the CFPB to continue enforcing the ECOA, including its provision for disparate impact liability.

COMMUNITY BANKS: Effect of Regulations on Small Business Lending and Institutions Appears Modest, but Lending Data Could Be Improved

The data that banks report to regulators have characteristics that make determining how community banks' small business lending changed since 2010 difficult. However, GAO's analysis found that the regulatory environment likely had a generally modest effect on various aspects of community banks and their small business lending.

US Consumers Owe $1.15 Trillion in Car Loans

Whether U.S. consumers are purchasing a new car or a used model, chances are that an auto loan is involved. More than 86% of all new car buyers and nearly 55% of used car buyers financed vehicle purchases in the second quarter of this 2018. The average loan amount to purchase a new vehicle reached $30,958, up $724 (about 2.4%) compared to the same period last year. Loans to purchase a used car averaged $19,536, up $520 (about 2.7%) year over year. Second-quarter used car averages hit a record high, according to data reported last week by Experian Automotive.

Attorney General Becerra: Weakening Our Equal Credit Opportunity Laws Will Worsen Inequality, Promote Discriminatory Practices

SACRAMENTO – California Attorney General Xavier Becerra today joined a coalition of 14 states expressing serious concern about the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) apparent rejection of protections against lending discrimination. Earlier this summer, Acting Director Mick Mulvaney indicated that the CFPB may no longer enforce the Equal Credit Opportunity Act’s (ECOA) protections against disparate impact discrimination. The ECOA makes it unlawful for creditors to discriminate against consumers on the basis of certain characteristics, including race, national origin, sex, marital status, and age.

BUSINESS Colorado’s new consumer data protection law among the most demanding in the country

A new law that took effect on Saturday gives Colorado some of the most demanding standards for consumer data protection in the country. And businesses and government agencies that keep Coloradans’ personal information need to ensure they are ready to comply, experts say. The Protections for Consumer Data Privacy Act was signed into law May 29 after winning unanimous approval during Colorado’s 2018 legislative session.

VeriFacts Launches Due Diligence Solution

VeriFacts Inc. (VFI), a small family owned data and asset location service, announced plans to ramp up due diligence facilitation while reducing labor for many ED clients. In this two-part process, VFI supports the AWG process with verified places of employment while also streamlining voluntary payment attempts with unverified local employer phone numbers.

Technology is the ‘most profound force bearing down’ on big banks, ex-Barclays boss says

Technology is going to fundamentally transform the banking industry over the coming years, a former Barclays CEO told CNBC on Monday. Antony Jenkins, who led the British bank through a tumultuous period between 2012 and 2015, said regulatory measures imposed in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis had made the global financial system safer.

Attorney General Becerra: Secretary DeVos Puts Predatory For-Profit Schools Ahead of Defrauded Students with Proposed Borrower Defense Regulations

SACRAMENTO — California Attorney General Xavier Becerra today criticized the U.S. Department of Education (Department) and Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos for putting the interests of predatory for-profit schools ahead of the students she is sworn to protect. Attorney General Becerra and Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey, leading a coalition of 20 attorneys general, submitted a comment letter sharply rebuking the Department’s proposed changes to its borrower defense regulations. If enacted, these rules would make it more difficult for defrauded students to obtain financial relief, while giving unscrupulous and predatory schools unwarranted protections.

Britain’s biggest payday lender Wonga collapses

Aug 30 (Reuters) - Britain's biggest payday lender Wonga Group collapsed on Thursday, saying it had decided to put its UK operations into administration against a backdrop of widespread criticism for high interest rates and marketing tactics used by the industry.

STIRLING CAPITAL ADVISORS ANNOUNCES ITS ACQUISITION OF CMAX FINANCE, LLC

West Palm Beach, FL – September 3, 2018 Stirling Capital Advisors formally announces its acquisition of the NDSE debt-trading platform from CMAX Finance, LLC, formerly known as CreditMax. The NDSE was the ARM Industry’s original, innovative, electronic debt-trading platform, where over 4,000 registered debt buyers could purchase debt instantly and electronically, even on an individual account-level basis.

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