Federal Reserve Board to publish inaugural Supervision and Regulation Report on November 9

The Federal Reserve Board on November 9 at 12:00 p.m. EST will publish its inaugural Supervision and Regulation Report, which will summarize current banking system conditions and the Board's recent supervisory and regulatory actions. The report is being published in conjunction with appearances before Congress by Vice Chairman for Supervision Randal K. Quarles on November 14 and 15 and is intended to explain the Board's recent supervisory and regulatory actions.

Colorado election: Proposition 111, capping interest on payday loans, passes

Colorado's payday lenders will face more limitations after passage of Proposition 111 on Tuesday. Proposition 111 caps the annual interest rate on payday loans at 36 percent and eliminates other finance charges and fees. The law takes effect Feb. 1. As of results posted late Tuesday, it had 77 percent approval from Colorado voters, according to the Secretary of State's Office. Currently, Colorado's payday lenders can legally charge more than 200 percent interest for all loans "targeted at customers who are often in dire straits."  Colorado and 15 other states, plus Washington, D.C., had ballot initiatives to cap rates at 36 percent or less.

Agencies issue proposal to streamline regulatory reporting for qualifying small institutions

The three federal banking agencies today invited public comment on a proposal to reduce regulatory reporting burden on small institutions by expanding the number of regulated institutions eligible for streamlined reporting. The proposal would implement section 205 of the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act.

The Evolution of Lending Through Fintech

The lending market is going through some major, rapid changes, and it’s more exciting than ever for consumers looking for attractive deals on their loans. At the same time, lenders themselves have an easier time managing the huge volume of customers they have to work with, along with all the data they generate on a regular basis. Old methods are being pushed out, while new ones are starting to take ground very quickly.

Have the Rules for Third-party Debt Collectors Changed in Massachusetts?

It has been reported that, without announcement or warning, the regulations applicable to third-party debt collectors in Massachusetts may have changed.  While the state’s Division of Banks (DOB) and the state’s Attorney General (AG) have traditionally regulated, respectively, third-party debt collectors and first-party creditors, the AG is reported to have changed its website recently to include third-party debt collectors as entities that it regulates.

Why Security Training Starts With Your People

One US report found annual financial losses dropped from $683,000 to $162,000 when new recruits were security trained while, closer to home, 88 percent of cyber attacks in the UK over the past two years have been attributed to human error according to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). Consequently, security training should be seen as every bit as important as implementing technical security controls.

Innovate Loan Servicing Selects CallMiner Speech Analytics to Improve Contact Center Efficiency and Collector Effectiveness

WALTHAM, MA – Nov 7, 2018 – CallMiner, the leading platform provider of award-winning speech and customer engagement analytics, announced today that Innovate Loan Servicing has implemented CallMiner Eureka as its speech analytics platform to drive efficiency within its contact center and improve its collector effectiveness.

FCC CALLS ON NETWORK VOICE PROVIDERS TO JOIN EFFORT TO COMBAT ILLEGAL SPOOFED SCAM ROBOCALLS

WASHINGTON, November 6, 2018—The Federal Communications Commission today sent letters to voice providers, calling on them to assist industry efforts to trace scam robocalls that originate on or pass through their networks. These letters, written by FCC Enforcement Bureau Chief Rosemary Harold and Chief Technology Officer Eric Burger, were sent to voice providers that are not participating in these “traceback” efforts, including those the FCC has encouraged to do more to guard against illegal traffic. These traceback efforts assist the FCC in identifying the source of illegal calls.

The cost of a data breach

According to Ponemon’s 2018 Cost of Data Breach Study, the average cost of a data breach is $3.86 million (around £2.95 million), with an average cost of $148 (around £113) per lost or stolen record. But what factors contribute to this cost? As well as having to pay hefty fines for suffering a breach, there are costs associated with reputational damage, customer loss and fall in stock price, not to mention the resources needed to recover from the incident and return to ‘business as usual’. By looking at some of the best-known data breaches, we can observe the effects they can have and how much they really can cost.

TCN Earns The Salt Lake Tribune’s 2018 Utah Top Workplaces Award

St. George, Utah, – November 6, 2018 – TCN, Inc.,a leading provider of cloud contact center technology for enterprises, contact centers, BPOs and collection agencies worldwide, announced today that The Salt Lake Tribune has awarded TCN the 2018 Top Workplaces honor. The award recognizes leading organizations in Utah that value, empower and inspire its employees in high-performance cultures.

Newly Unsealed Documents Show Top FDIC Officials Running Operation Choke Point

Last week brought new revelations regarding Operation Choke Point, the Obama administration’s effort to freeze politically disfavored businesses out of the financial system. Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-Mo.), who helped lead a multi-year effort to shut the program down, highlighted some of theses newest findings and pointed out that stopping Operation Choke Point is not a partisan issue.

U.S. Supreme Court ends fight over Obama-era net neutrality rules

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday refused a request by the Trump administration and the telecommunications industry to wipe away a lower court decision that had upheld Obama-era net neutrality rules aimed at ensuring a free and open internet, though the justices' action does not undo the 2017 repeal of the policy

“Overbiffing” is the latest outrage in debt collection

Overstating a debtor's balance — also called "overbiffing" — is the latest outrage in unfair debt collection. In a recent case, regulators allege a New York debt collector may have tricked thousands of consumers into paying far more than they actually owed by fraudulently inflating consumer balances and using profane, abusive and illegal tactics to collect the fabricated bills. The term is called "overbiffing" because the scammers overstate a person's "balance in full," which is sometimes shortened to BIF.

Credit Union to Pay for Seizing Vehicles of Service Members

POUGHKEEPSIE, New York -- The U.S. Department of Justice and the Hudson Valley Federal Credit Union announced a $95,000 settlement Friday, after an investigation into claims that the company violated federal law by repossessing service members' vehicles while they were on active duty.

Arizona Attorney General Adds Two Fintech Lenders to Sandbox (1)

Two fintech lending startups will be able to test out their products in Arizona without having to get licensed. Attorney General Mark Brnovich announced the addition of Grain Technology, Inc. and Sweetbridge NFP to the state’s fintech regulatory sandbox, which eases regulatory requirements for entrepreneurs to test innovative products. Grain Technology, based in New York, will test a savings and credit product on Arizona consumers who need small lines of credit while receiving overdraft protection for bank accounts.

A human-centric approach to better cybersecurity

A recent risk report from the United States’ Office of Management and Budget (OMB) delivered some sobering cybersecurity news to federal agencies. According to the OMB, a majority of agencies with cybersecurity programs in place are at significant risk of attack. As noted in the report, “Agencies cannot detect when large amounts of information leave their networks.”  That is a startling observation, but perhaps it should not be entirely surprising, especially in Southeast Asia. In recent years, the region has pushed the pedal on digital growth and innovation, leading to a more connected and tech-enabled workforce.

Data center automation: 2 acronyms you should know

Data centers remain the brain and nerve center of today's enterprises. The fact that many companies are migrating to the cloud doesn't change that fact--it just changes the geography.   But what is changing is that today's data centers need to be more software-based and better automated in order to take advantage of business needs for agility, scalability, and digital transformation.

Consumer Sentinel Network Data Book 2017: Inside the Numbers

This year, the Sentinel Data Book refers to consumer reports rather than “complaints.” Often, people make these reports after they have experienced something problematic in the marketplace, avoided a loss, and decided to alert others.   Sentinel sorts consumer reports into 30 top categories. Appendices B1–B3 describe the categories, providing details, and three year figures. To reflect marketplace changes, new categories or subcategories are created or deleted over time. In 2017, a new subcategory for reports about online payment systems was added to the Internet Services category.

CFPB policy on military lending supervision ‘unacceptable,’ says consumer group

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has the statutory authority to ensure compliance with the Military Lending Act (MLA), according to an analysis by the Consumer Federation of America (CFA).  The analysis follows an announcement by the CFPB of plans to end supervisory examinations for violations of the MLA.

New Bankruptcy Cases Fall 2.2 Percent

Bankruptcy filings fell by 2.2 percent for the 12-month period ending September 30, 2018, compared with the year ending September 30, 2017, continuing a series of slight annual declines in new cases.   The September 2018 annual bankruptcy filings totaled 773,375, compared with 790,830 cases in the previous year, according to statistics released by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts. The number of bankruptcy cases filed was the lowest for any 12-month period since the year ending June 2007. 

FTC Announces Hearings on Consumer Privacy and Data Security

On October 26, 2018, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that it will hold four days of hearings between December of 2018 and February of 2019 to examine the FTC’s authority to deter unfair and deceptive conduct in data security and privacy matters.[1] The two days of December hearings will focus on data security, while the two days of February hearings will focus on consumer privacy. This announcement comes as part of the agencies Hearings on Competition and Consumer Protection in the 21st Century, an initiative that has already scheduled hearings on closely related topics such as Big Data, Privacy, and Competition, and Algorithms, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and Predictive Analytics.

BCFP updates HMDA compliance guide w/ S. 2155 changes

The Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection has updated its small entity compliance guide for the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) to reflect changes in the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief and Consumer Protection Act (S. 2155) and the bureau’s August interpretive rule. CUNA has urged the bureau to move quickly in implementing the changes required by S. 2155 as well as provide additional regulatory relief to credit unions. S. 2155 exempts insured financial institutions from reporting certain data with respect to:

FTC and New York Attorney General Sue Operators of Debt Collection Scheme

The Federal Trade Commission and the New York Attorney General’s Office have sued a New York-based debt collection operation for tricking people into agreeing to pay more money than what they allegedly owed, according to defendants’ own business records. A federal court temporarily halted the operation’s illegal activity and froze its assets at the request of the FTC and NY AG.

Debt Collectors Can’t Dodge DA Letterhead Suit

SAN FRANCISCO (CN) – A prior settlement and $50,000 fine do not absolve debt collectors from claims that they used government seals and letterheads to trick consumers into paying illegal fees, a federal judge said Thursday.   Four California residents sued Victim Services Inc. and its affiliated companies in 2014 for allegedly using false threats of criminal prosecution to obtain fees of about $200 each as part of a state-sanctioned bad check diversion program.

A.G. Underwood Awards Nearly $26 Million To New York Land Banks

NEW YORK – Attorney General Barbara D. Underwood today announced $25.9 million in new funding for all New York State land banks that work to protect homeowners and neighborhoods by acquiring blighted homes and transforming them into community assets. This latest round of funding will be administered by Enterprise Community Partners, Inc. (Enterprise). Since 2013, the Attorney General’s office has provided more than $82 million to land banks from funding it secured through settlements with the nation’s largest banks over misconduct that contributed to the housing crisis. This latest funding was secured through Martin Act securities fraud settlements announced earlier this year with the Royal Bank of Scotland and UBS.

San Francisco CSS IMPACT Financial Cloud Success

SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 1, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The City of San Francisco Office of the Treasurer and Tax Collector (TTX) exactly one year ago launched their first Cloud Financial Ecosystem, "CSS IMPACT! HD™ 2.0". CSS, Inc., the developers of "IMPACT! HD™ 2.0" are the leading provider of Cloud Financial Ecosystem platforms for enterprises & government.

FTC and New York AG miffed by overbiffing

If you aren’t familiar with the word “overbiffing,” there’s no need to add it to your vocabulary. But if you know what overbiffing is and engage in it, a case just filed by the FTC and the New York Attorney General suggests now would be an excellent time to cut it out.   Overbiffing is the practice of debt collectors tricking consumers into paying more than their “Balance In Full,” sometimes abbreviated as BIF. The FTC and the New York AG charge that a related group of Buffalo companies controlled by defendant Robert Heidenreich encourages their collectors to engage in overbiffing. 

Discover Survey Suggests Financial Education Courses Are Helping Americans Become More Confident with Their Finances

RIVERWOODS, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Fifty-nine percent of Americans ages 18-26 who have taken a financial education course believe the lessons will save them more than $10,000 over the course of their lifetimes, according to a new survey from Discover.   Discover released the survey results today in conjunction with Discovery Education as the two companies announced their Pathway to Financial Success in Schools program will be extended to a younger age group: middle school students. 

Federal Reserve unveils proposal to ease regulations for larger banks

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve said on Wednesday it wants to ease regulations for U.S. lenders with less than $700 billion in assets, a way to lessen the burden on big commercial lenders that do not have volatile Wall Street businesses.

FTC Seeks Comment on Proposed Rule Implementing Law Providing Free Credit Monitoring for Active Duty Military Consumers

The Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act, passed earlier this year, mandated that the FTC issue a rule regarding certain requirements of the law. The FTC’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) proposes a rule that would require the nationwide consumer reporting agencies (CRAs) to provide a free electronic credit monitoring service that would notify active duty military members within 24 hours of any “material” additions or modifications to their credit files. It states that contact information, appropriate proof that the consumer is an active duty member of the military, and proof of the consumer’s identity may be required to take advantage of this service.

Technology is shaking up the financial industry and big banks are struggling to adapt

Pedigrees, some stretching back centuries, are of little use to global banks unless they aggressively adapt to new financial technologies.   That's long been true, but the pace of innovation means financial juggernauts now face what one top executive likened to a mass extinction event.

How new tax policies affect student loan forgiveness

Did you know that about 44 million Americans owe more than $1.5 trillion in student loans? Student loans are by far some of the most widespread types of loans that plague people into their adult life. For the most part, people struggle to pay these loans off for their entire adult existence. It is no wonder that so many people allow these loans to default – it seems hopeless to get them paid off.  One way to get student loans forgiven was to claim that the school you attended defrauded you in some way or had some sort of academic misconduct. 

DA Reaches $9 Million Settlement with Debt Collection Company over Harassing Phone Calls

San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan announced today that her office, along with the  District Attorneys of Los Angeles, Riverside and Santa Clara Counties, have reached $9 million settlement that cracks down on illegal phone-calling practices at one of the world’s biggest third party debt collection companies. The civil settlement, which is believed to be one of the largest of its kind, sets strict phone call parameters for Allied Interstate LLC, along with its parent company iQor Holdings Inc. and affiliated firms, over the next five years.

Capital One, Discover clamp down on lending

Petal CEO Jason Gross on how the company’s no-fee credit card helps millennials boost their credit score.   Credit card companies are tightening the lending standards for charge cards, a surprising move given the improving state of the global economy and record low unemployment in the U.S.    Capital One and Discover are among the major companies tightening their credit card requirements, saying they want to “become more cautious” in handling credit limits. While they are not concerned with consumers’ ability to pay their debts, they do question how much longer the economic recovery will last, as first reported by The Wall Street Journal.

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