MARK YOUR CALENDARS! THE DATES FOR DCS2019 HAVE BEEN ANNOUNCED

Debt Connection Symposium and Expo 2019 will be returning to the beautiful Red Rock Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada on September 10-12, 2019.   Dennis and Judy Hammond present Debt Connection Symposium and Expo 2019.  Whether you are a Creditor, Debt Buyer, Collection Agency, Attorney, or Industry Vendor, DCS2019 provides a high-quality conference experience with a solid line-up of educational and networking opportunities.

Court Eliminates Debt of Former ITT Tech Students

A federal judge approved a settlement Wednesday that erases more than $500 million in student debt held by former ITT Technical Institute students. The settlement also returns $3 million that was paid by students since the company filed for bankruptcy in 2016. The students were represented by the Project on Predatory Student Lending at Harvard University. They alleged that ITT, a since shuttered for-profit institution, violated consumer protection laws, engaged in deceptive recruiting practices and enrolled unqualified students to generate revenue from federal and private student loans.

Is AI The New Debt Collector?

Debt collection may be among the more human and manual labor-intense activities when it comes to managing accounts receivables. Collections departments place calls, scores of them, send emails, and seek to work out payment plans — and very frequently none of the above translates into recovery of monies owed. In fact, that happens only 20 percent of the time, at best. That’s in part tied to legislation that is decades old, such as was passed in 1991, which allows consumers to tell collectors to stop contacting them, and to the traditional methods of collection that are based on phone calls and letters and repetition.

CFPB Ombudsman’s Office 2018 Annual Report

Today my office’s seventh annual report is available on our webpage. At the Ombudsman’s Office, we are an independent, impartial, and confidential resource that assists consumers, financial entities, consumer or trade groups, and others in informally resolving process issues with the Bureau. In short, we advocate for fair process in consumer financial protection.

Why Aren’t Millennials Spending? They’re Poorer Than Previous Generations, Fed Says

Since millennials first started entering the workforce, their spending habits have been blamed for killing off industries ranging from casual restaurant dining to starter houses. However, a new study by the Federal Reserve suggests it might be less about how they are spending their money and more about not having any to spend.   A study published this month by Christopher Kurz, Geng Li and Daniel J. Vine found millennials are less financially well-off than members of earlier generations when they were the same ages, with "lower earnings, fewer assets and less wealth."

Senate moves closer to final vote on Kraninger BCFP nomination

The Senate voted 50-49 to end debate on the nomination of Kathy Kraninger to lead the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection Thursday, setting up a final vote on the nomination in the coming days. Kraninger was nominated to replace Acting Director Mick Mulvaney, and was approved by the Senate Banking Committee in August.  “We thank the Senate for moving closer to confirming a permanent director to lead the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection, as financial institutions and credit unions deserve consistency at this important agency,” said CUNA President/CEO Jim Nussle.

Neustar Adds Caller Authentication, Fraud Prevention with TrustID Acquisition

nformation services provider Neustar is acquiring TrustID, a provider of caller authentication and fraud prevention systems for contact centers.   Neustar said the acquisition enhances its risk portfolio by adding more inbound call engagement services to its outbound call-engagement products and solutions. The deal is expected to close next month and the financial details weren’t disclosed.

Amendments to data breach notification law in Colorado impact HIPAA-regulated entities

Passed during the 2018 state legislative session, House Bill 18-1128 went into effect on Sept. 1, changing Colorado’s law on the protection of personally identifying information and the procedure businesses must follow when that information is breached.  Although the changes to the law are relatively extensive, HIPAA-regulated entities are exempted from most of these changes.  The new law contains a “deemed compliance” provision stating that most HIPAA-regulated entities who comply with HIPAA’s rules and regulations are deemed also to be in compliance with the state law, with two important exceptions:

Ohio will let businesses pay their taxes with Bitcoin

Starting this week, Ohio businesses will have a new way to pay their taxes: Bitcoin. The Wall Street Journal reports (via TechCrunch) that the state of Ohio has opened a cryptocurrency portal, ohiocrypto.com, which will allow businesses to pay with the digital currency. The WSJ says that Ohio appears to be the first state to allow people to pay with a cryptocurrency, and that the idea originated with State Treasurer Josh Mandel. The site’s FAQ cites the state’s track record with innovation and says that paying via Bitcoin is instantaneous, secure, and transparent. It also lists 23 different taxes that businesses can pay with Bitcoin, ranging from cigarette and tobacco taxes to fuel and sales taxes.

To Defer or Not to Defer: Supreme Court Set to Hear Case That Could Decide Deference Standard in TCPA Cases

On November 13, 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari in the junk fax action, Carlton & Harris Chiropractic, Inc. v. PDR Network, LLC, 883 F.3d 459 (4th Cir. 2018), which arose under the Junk Fax Prevention Act of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”). Though the facts of the case centered on the definition of the term “unsolicited advertisement” under the 2006 FCC Rule, the high court’s eventual decision may not be just about fax liability. The Court is set to address wide-ranging issues concerning the interplay between the FCC’s interpretive authority under the Hobbs Act and the Supreme Court’s Chevron deference doctrine, which means the outcome of the Court’s holding may have far-reaching implications for pending and future litigation under the TCPA.

CFPB official who quit in anger opens new student loan watchdog

Seth Frotman oversaw the $1.5 trillion student loan market for the Trump administration. In August, he quit in a very public way, protesting in a widely circulated resignation letter what he called the White House's open hostility toward the nation's millions of student loan borrowers. Now he's starting his own watchdog group to do what the government won't, and he's poaching former colleagues to do it. Having spent seven years with Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, three of them as student loan ombudsman, Frotman said he drove policy reform that returned $750 million to wronged student borrowers.

United States: TCPA Law – FCC Eliminates Opt-Out Notice Requirement For Solicited Faxes

On November 14, 2018, the Federal Communications Commission ("FCC") issued an order ("2018 Order") formally eliminating the requirement that opt-out notices must be included on faxes sent with the recipients' prior consent pursuant to the Telephone Consumer Protection Act ("TCPA"). The FCC's new TCPA law guidance appears to be in direct response to the decision from the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals in Bais Yaakov of Spring Valley, et al. v. FCC, which held that the FCC lacked the power to issue a ruling purporting to dictate the content of solicited—as opposed to unsolicited—faxes. On that basis, the D.C. Circuit struck down certain portions of the FCC's 2006 Junk Fax Rule as invalid.

Online Lender Settles With FTC Over Refinancing Misrepresentations

Issuing a warning to other lenders, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) reached a deal with an online lender over charges the company violated the FTC Act by making false statements about student loan refinancing. The California-based company misrepresented how much money student loan borrowers have saved or will save by refinancing, the agency alleged.

TrueAccord Names Barclays Bank Industry Executive Sheila Monroe To COO

SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 28, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- TrueAccord (www.trueaccord.com), the first-of-its-kind tech platform that transforms the antiquated debt recovery industry, announced today that financial industry veteran Sheila Monroe has been named Chief Operating Officer. Monroe joins TrueAccord from Barclays and brings more than 30 years of financial services and collections experience to the leading fintech debt recovery company. The company also announced the appointment of collections law specialist, Kelly Knepper-Stephens as Vice President of Legal and the promotion of Lapis Kim as Vice President of Finance and Analytics.

Federal Trade Commission Oversight

Federal Trade Commission Chair Joseph Simons and other commissioners testified on the agency’s budget and priorities. Senators asked questions on a variety of consumer protection topics, including robocalls, regulation of social media companies, and online privacy concerns for children and teens. Afterward, the subcommittee’s chair and ranking member spoke with reporters.

The BCFP’s “Disclosure Sandbox” is Shovel Ready – Who Will be the First!

I find it interesting that the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (BCFP) which was formerly known the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is offering up a “Disclosure Sandbox” to assist in developing disclosures that consumers find understandable. Yet, on April 1, 2019, the prepaid industry will be required to disclose fees using a specific format and methodology; similar to the Schumer Box for credit cards.

CUNA engaged w/ Kraninger vote, hearings this week

CUNA is engaged with several hearings in Congress this week, as well as a Senate confirmation vote on the director of the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection. CUNA wrote to Senate leadership Monday in advance of its expected vote on Kathy Kraninger to lead the bureau. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) filed cloture Nov. 15 on the nomination, setting up a full Senate vote once the chamber votes to end debate.

Compliance: Fed, BCFP propose changes to Reg. CC

The Federal Reserve and Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection jointly issued a proposal last week that would make changes to Regulation CC, which implements the Expedited Funds Availability (EFA) Act. The proposal also provides an additional opportunity for public comment on certain amendments to Regulation CC that the Board proposed in 2011.
Specifically, the agencies are proposing to adjust the amount of funds depository institutions must make available to their customers/members for inflation. These amendments would apply in circumstances ranging from next business day withdrawal of certain check deposits to setting the threshold amount for determining whether an account has been repeatedly withdrawn.

Major US Postal Service data breach exposes 60m users

It was a busy week in the world of infosec with a major breach at the US Postal Service exposing data of 60m users.  In the build-up to the retail extravaganza that is Black Friday and Cyber Monday, the world’s biggest retailer at first denied it was hit by a major data breach, despite customers receiving emails stating as such. The email, sent to a large number of Amazon account holders, claimed that the issue was fixed and that it was not the result of any customer’s actions. However, the e-commerce giant eventually admitted to TechCrunch it was on the receiving end of a breach, and that the names and email addresses of those exposed were obtained by hackers.

FDIC issues proposed real estate purchase guidelines

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) has issued a proposed residential real estate guideline raising the threshold for transactions requiring an appraisal to $400,000. Officials said the proposal stems from concerns raised about the time and cost associated with completing residential real estate transactions. The FDIC believes raising the threshold from the current level of $250,000 could provide burden from the appraisal requirements, without posing a threat to the safety and soundness of financial institutions.

FCC to take up NAFCU-sought reassigned numbers database Dec. 12

During its Dec. 12 meeting, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will vote to issue a rulemaking to create a single, comprehensive reassigned numbers database to aid in the elimination of illegal robocalls. NAFCU has voiced its support for the creation of a reassigned numbers database since last year.

Winter 2018 BCFP Advisory Committee conference call

Join us for BCFP Advisory Committee meeting via conference call about artificial intelligence in consumer financial services and consumer access to financial records.   The meeting will feature remarks from Bureau staff and discussion with committee members.

A Letter from Navient CEO Jack Remondi to Navient Shareholders

WILMINGTON, Del., Nov. 20, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Navient (Nasdaq:NAVI) released the following letter from Jack Remondi, President and CEO, to company shareholders:   Today’s article by the Associated Press continues the practice of ignoring facts to make false, sensational and harmful accusations that discourage borrowers from working with their servicers. Despite being in possession of the Federal Student Aid (FSA) review and our account-by-account response, the article repeated a series of false accusations that are not found in any section of the review. 

Agencies Announce Dollar Thresholds in Regulations Z and M for Exempt Consumer Credit and Lease Transactions

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Federal Reserve Board and the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (Bureau) today announced the dollar thresholds in Regulation Z (Truth in Lending) and Regulation M (Consumer Leasing) that will apply for determining exempt consumer credit and lease transactions in 2019. These thresholds are set pursuant to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank Act) amendments to the Truth in Lending Act and the Consumer Leasing Act that require adjusting these thresholds annually based on the annual percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W).

Controlled Chaos? FCC Withdraws Overruled Portion of Solicited Fax Rule One Day After Supreme Court Accepts Review of Different Portion of Same Rule

As we reported on Tuesday, the U.S. Supreme Court has just granted cert to determine whether or not the FCC’s definition of  “unsolicited advertisement” in its 2006 Junk Fax Ruling is binding on district courts pursuant to the Hobbs Act. The outcome of that determination will have a huge impact on TCPAland–imagine if the Court finds that FCC rulings are not, and never were, binding????– and may also alter the court/agency power paradigm forever if the Court also takes up the related question of  Chevron deference.

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Winter 2018 BCFP Advisory Committee conference call

BCFP

Consumer Protection Economics Symposium

Federal Trade Commission

Counterclaims – Prevention & Risk Management Strategies for Creditors

American Lawyers Quarterly8

FTC Hearing on Competition and Consumer Protection in the 21st Century – December 2018

Federal Trade Commission

Receivables Management Association 22nd Annual Conference

FTC Hearing on Competition and Consumer Protection in the 21st Century – February 2019

Federal Trade Commission

ACA International Spring Forum & Expo 2019

ACA International

NCUCA – National Credit Union Collection Alliance

NCUCA - National Credit Union Collection Alliance

Collection & Recovery Solutions 2019

Resource Management Services, Inc.

National Creditors Bar Association 2019 Spring Conference

National Creditors Bar Association

PrivacyCon 2019

Federal Trade Commission

ACA International 2019 Annual Convention & Expo

ACA International

Debt Connection Symposium & Expo 2019

Resource Management Services, Inc.

National Creditors Bar Association 2019 Fall Conference

National Creditors Bar Association