Consumer credit has second straight big jump in November

The numbers: Consumer borrowing stayed strong for the second straight month in November, according to the Federal Reserve on Tuesday. Total consumer credit increased $22.1 billion in November to a seasonally adjusted $3.98 trillion. That’s down only slightly from a $25 billion gain in October, which was the fastest pace in 11 months. Economists had been expecting a $19 billion gain in credit, according to Econoday.

LendEDU Releases Study On CFPB Banking Complaints

For the most part, mobile banking works pretty well, and allows us all to carry out our standard banking chores more readily. Yet, sometimes, banks run afoul of certain issues, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) helps keep track of these issues and resolve at least some of them. Recently, LendEDU sent word our way about the numbers for the CFPB in 2018, and some of the results might surprise you. LendEDU went through 244,114 complaints the CFPB received in 2018, and reduced this down to a pool of 42,946 complaints from 73 banks found on the S&P Banks Select Industry index. LendEDU even found some banks that didn’t have any complaints against them whatsoever for the entirety of 2018, and featured said banks accordingly.

What to Expect in Fintech for 2019

Fintech Predictions for 2019. Financial innovation continues to evolve at a rapid pace. Startups launch and shutdown with regularity. Traditional financial firms experiment and partner with more agile firms. It’s all about the digitization of finance where services are ubiquitous and instantaneous – all available on your smartphone. Sophisticated services previously only available to the posh class are filtering down to the more plebeian types. Underbanked demographics now have access to services which were once inaccessible or simply too expensive

CFPB Announces Ceiling on Charges for FCRA Disclosures Increased in 2019

On December 31, 2018, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) – the agency responsible for consumer protection in the financial sector – announced the ceiling on allowable charges for disclosures under the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) had increased from $12.00 to $12.50, effective for 2019. CFPB Announces Charges for FCRA Disclosures Increased
Section 612(f)(1)(A) of the FCRA – a federal law that governs background checks for employment purposes in America – provides that a consumer reporting agency (CRA) may charge a consumer a reasonable amount for making a disclosure to the consumer pursuant to section 609 of the FCRA. FCRA Section 612(f)(1)(A) further provides that, where a CRA is permitted to impose a reasonable charge on a consumer for making a disclosure to the consumer pursuant to section 609 of the FCRA, the charge shall not exceed $8.00 and shall be indicated to the consumer before making the disclosure.

Supreme Court debates the meaning of the term ‘debt collector’ in a foreclosure protections case dating back to the financial crisis

The Supreme Court on Monday heard arguments in a case that dates back to the financial crisis a decade ago.  The justices, missing Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, attempted to resolve a legal question that could have broad ramifications on hundreds of thousands of Americans who are foreclosed on without a judicial process each year.  A key issue in the matter is who or what can be considered a "debt collector."

Convoke Releases Expanded Data Groups and Debt Settlement Functionality

ARLINGTON, Va., Jan. 8, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Convoke, a leader in SaaS solutions for the debt collection market, today announced the most recent software update to its debt collections compliance and management hub.  Each year, Convoke develops and releases several updates to its platform to support its clients' evolving needs.  Among the many value-added features included in this latest major release is the introduction of functionality for insurance companies' auto lending workflow, thereby adding a new channel to support credit issuers.

Government shutdown won’t delay tax refunds

WASHINGTON (AP) — Taxpayers who are owed refunds will be paid on time, despite the government shutdown that has closed many federal agencies, a Trump administration official said Monday as concern mounted over the risk that the payments could be delayed.  The acting director of the White House budget office, Russell Vought, said customary rules will be changed to make the payments possible. He told reporters that an “indefinite appropriation” was available for the refunds, which would go out as normal.

Motorola Solutions Acquires VaaS International Holdings, Leader in Data and Image Analytics for Vehicle Location

CHICAGO, LIVERMORE, CALIFORNIA and FORT WORTH, TEXAS – Jan. 7, 2018 – Motorola Solutions, Inc. (NYSE: MSI) today announced it has acquired VaaS International Holdings, Inc., (VaaS) a data and image analytics company based in Livermore, California and Fort Worth, Texas. Motorola Solutions paid a purchase price of $445 million in a combination of cash and equity.

Former for-profit college students will have nearly $500 million in student debt wiped away

Nearly 180,000 students who attended for-profit colleges accused of scamming students will have $493.7 million in student debt wiped away. That’s part of an agreement Career Education Corporation CECO, -0.25% — a for-profit college company whose empire once included brands like Sanford-Brown and Le Cordon Bleu — made with attorneys general from 48 states and the District of Columbia to settle allegations of deceptive practices. The state of New York already reached its own settlement with the company in 2013. California remains in negotiations with the company to reach an appropriate resolution for the state.

Robocalls jumped 60 percent in the U.S. last year and scammers are finding more ways to make money

It's not your imagination. You are getting bombarded with robocalls. Robocalling, a practice where marketers send automated voice messages to thousands of phones at once, surged 60 percent in the U.S. last year to 48 billion calls, according to preliminary year-end data from YouMail, a robocall management company that tracks the volume of calls. "Scam calls have been increasing very steadily, and it's driving people to not answer their phone," said YouMail CEO Alex Quilici. "It's driving people to not answer their phone and it's kind of created this death spiral of phone calls as the robocallers ramp up their efforts, and the legitimate roboccalls try harder to get through."

LA Sues Weather Channel For Illegally Selling Private Data Of Mobile App Users

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) – The Los Angeles city attorney’s office announced Friday that it has sued the parent company of the Weather Channel, alleging that for years it has misleadingly and unlawfully collected and sold the private data of its mobile app users.   In its lawsuit against Time Warner Cable, filed in L.A. County Superior Court, the city attorney’s office claims that the company tracks the exact location of its Weather Channel app users, and then sells that private information to advertisers without its users’ knowledge.

Arkansas students to receive $1.8 million in debt relief

Press Release) - (1/4/19) Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge announced the for-profit education company, Career Education Corp. (CEC) has agreed to change its recruiting and enrollment practices and forgo collecting more than $493.7 million in debts owed by 179,529 students nationally. In the settlement with Arkansas and 48 other attorneys general, affected Arkansas students will receive $1.8 million in debt relief through student loan forgiveness, and the State of Arkansas will receive a payment of $75,000.

DFS SUPERINTENDENT VULLO AND A.G. JAMES ANNOUNCE $9 MILLION SETTLEMENT WITH CONDUENT EDUCATION SERVICES, LLC FOR ENGAGING IN ILLEGAL PRACTICES WHILE SERVICING STUDENT LOANS

Financial Services Superintendent Maria T. Vullo and Attorney General Letitia James today announced that the Department of Financial Services (DFS) and the New York Attorney General’s Office have entered into a joint settlement with Conduent Education Services, LLC, formerly known as Xerox Education Services, LLC, and formerly known as and doing business as ACS Education Services, Inc. (Conduent), for engaging in practices that harmed student loan borrowers. Today’s announcement is part of DFS’s ongoing efforts to protect student borrowers from harmful and illegal student loan practices.

Attorney general announces settlement in debt-relief action

BOISE — Idaho Attorney General Lawrence Wasden announced a settlement with an Illinois-based education company that will result in the waiving of $493.7 million in debts owed by more than 179,000 students nationally. The settlement with Career Education Corporation involves Idaho and 48 other states. In Idaho, about 388 students will get relief totaling approximately $862,562. Nationally, the average individual debt relief will be about $2,750. A group of attorneys general launched an investigation into Career Education Corporation in January 2014, alleging that CEC pressured its employees to enroll students and engaged in unfair and deceptive practices. These practices included making misleading statements or failing to disclose information to prospective students on total costs, transferability of credits, program offerings and job placement rates.

Fintech lenders and banks call for clarification on alternative data usage in loan origination

The US Government Accountability Office (GAO) has called for financial regulators to pay more attention to the role played by nonbank technology companies in the consumer and small business lending market. The GAO conducted interviews with eleven fintech lenders and found a seven-fold growth in loan volumes from such companies between 2013 and 2017 alongside increasing alliances with banks to grow their portfolios and finance their lending. Some of the fintech lenders GAO interviewed said they use alternative data to supplement the traditional data used to make credit decisions or to detect potential fraud. Some alternative data (such as on-time rent payments) are financial and similar to traditional data, while others are nonfinancial, such as a borrower’s educational institution and degree. 

Maxine Waters: Much of my work will be undoing Mulvaney’s ‘damage’ to CFPB

Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) said one of her top priorities will be undoing the damage by former Consumer Financial Protection Bureau chief Mick Mulvaney now that Democrats control the House.   In an interview Thursday on "All In with Chris Hayes," the newly-named House Financial Services Committee chairwoman called Mulvaney's reforms to the agency, which she says eroded consumer protections, "dangerous" for American consumers.

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Settles with USAA Federal Savings Bank

Washington, D.C. — The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (Bureau) today announced a settlement with USAA Federal Savings Bank, a federally chartered savings association headquartered in San Antonio, Texas.   As described in the consent order, the Bureau found that USAA violated the Electronic Fund Transfer Act and Regulation E by failing to properly honor consumers’ stop payment requests on preauthorized electronic fund transfers, and by failing to initiate and complete reasonable error resolution investigations. USAA also violated the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 by reopening deposit accounts consumers had previously closed without seeking prior authorization or providing adequate notice.

U.S. banks ‘well-positioned’ for adverse market conditions: OCC spokesman

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. banking system has strong capital and liquidity and is well-positioned to manage more adverse market conditions, a spokesman for the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency said on Wednesday. In a statement to Reuters, Bryan Hubbard said the banking regulator was monitoring the effects of falling stock markets on the nearly 1,300 institutions it oversees and would share any relevant systemic information with fellow supervisors through the appropriate interagency forums. U.S. stocks posted a loss in 2018 for the first time in a decade due to fears over a weakening global economy and the U.S.-China trade war, sparking fears turmoil could spread to other parts of the financial system.

US student debt levels set a new record in 2018—here’s how much the typical borrower owes

This year, U.S. student debt levels set a new record. According to the St. Louis Federal Reserve, borrowers collectively owe over $1.5 trillion in student loans.
Debt has become an inevitable part of going to college for millions of Americans. The most recent Survey of Household Economics and Decision-making (SHED) from the Federal Reserve Board indicates that 42 percent of Americans who attended college, and 30 percent of all adults, have incurred debt in order to finance a degree.

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