Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Announces System for Prepaid Issuers to Submit Account Agreements

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (Bureau) announced a streamlined electronic submission system for prepaid account issuers to submit their account agreements to the Bureau. Prepaid issuers can register for the system now before the April 1, 2019 effective date of the Bureau’s prepaid rule. 

As Feds Turn Away, New York Looks to Regulate Student-Loan Servicers

New York City owes $34.8 billion in student loans, a burden born across neighborhoods and demographic groups, but not born equally.   Blacks are more likely to owe educational debt than whites, according to research by the New York City Department of Consumer Affairs. Women are more likely to feel the squeeze of student-loan IOUs than men. Older debtors are more likely to fall behind in paying off their loans than their younger counterparts.

Monetary Policy Report submitted to the Congress on February 22, 2019, pursuant to section 2B of the Federal Reserve Act

Economic activity in the United States appears to have increased at a solid pace, on balance, over the second half of 2018, and the labor market strengthened further. Inflation has been near the Federal Open Market Committee's (FOMC) longer-run objective of 2 percent, aside from the transitory effects of recent energy price movements. In this environment, the FOMC judged that, on balance, current and prospective economic conditions called for a further gradual removal of policy accommodation. In particular, the FOMC raised the target range for the federal funds rate twice in the second half of 2018, putting its level at 2-1/4 to 2-1/2 percent following the December meeting. In light of softer global economic and financial conditions late in the year and muted inflation pressures, the FOMC indicated at its January meeting that it will be patient as it determines what future adjustments to the federal funds rate may be appropriate to support the Committee's congressionally mandated objectives of maximum employment and price stability.

Robocalls are rampant despite the Do Not Call list — FCC urges phone providers to help stop them

The Federal Communications Commission, as part of a crackdown on the billions of unsolicited robocalls every year, is warning phone providers to implement technology to stop the scammers or face new government rules, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said Tuesday “Recently I told the industry, ‘Look, we need to adopt call authentication, essentially a digital fingerprint, for every single phone call this year. We need to have it now or otherwise it’s going to be regulatory intervention,’” Pai told CNBC’s Jon Fortt, in a “Squawk Box” interview from the Mobile World Congress trade show in Barcelona, Spain.

NV Lawmakers Aim to Strengthen Consumer Protections on Payday Loans

CARSON CITY, Nev. - Two bills before the Nevada Legislature would tighten up the rules on payday lending, just as the Trump administration is proposing to loosen them. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau recently proposed lifting the requirement that payday lenders verify that borrowers can pay back a loan. State Sen. Yvanna Cancela, D-Las Vegas, just introduced
Dollar Loan Center has distributed a packet to lawmakers that argues that a database would hurt the payday-lending industry, leave borrowers with less choice and be a risk for data breaches. A second bill, Assembly Bill 118 from Assemblywoman Heidi Swank, D-Las Vegas, would cap interest rates at 36 percent. Now, some payday loans have annual interest rates as high as 652 percent. Attempts at a similar cap have died in past legislative sessions.

Waters begins crackdown on credit reporting industry

House Democrats this week are kicking off work on the biggest overhaul of the consumer credit reporting industry in years, marking the first major legislative effort launched by new Financial Services Committee Chairwoman Maxine Waters.

CBA urges greater student loan transparency

On the heels of recently released survey findings determining student loans should carry clear, plain-language disclosures about the total costs, the Consumer Bankers Association (CBA) is advocating lending transparency.

CFPB Issues Small Entity Compliance Guide for Payday Loan Rule Payment Provisions

The CFPB has issued a new small entity compliance guide: “Payday, Vehicle Title and High-Cost Installment Lending Rule: Payment-Related Provisions.” The CFPB has proposed to revise its final payday/auto title/high-rate installment loan rule to rescind the rule’s ability-to-repay (ATR) provisions in their entirety and to delay the compliance date for the ATR provisions until November 19, 2020. However, its proposals would leave unchanged the rule’s payment provisions and continue to require compliance by August 19 with those provisions.

Equifax expecting punishment from CFPB and FTC over massive data breach

Equifax is expecting various forms of punishment from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Federal Trade Commission over the credit reporting agency’s massive data breach that exposed the personal information of 148 million U.S. consumers to hackers. The company revealed the expected sanctions in a recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. According to Equifax, the CFPB and FTC have both notified the company that they expect to seek “injunctive relief damages” in regards to the data breach. Beyond that, the CFPB plans to seek “civil money penalties,” the company said.

Rep. Maxine Waters vows to fully empower CFPB employees

House Financial Services Committee Chairwoman Maxine Waters recently sent a letter to employees of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, promising to fully empower them to protect consumers. In the letter, Waters said that CFPB had faced challenges over the past two years, and expressed her concern that morale is suffering at the agency. She said the CFPB should be a place employees can be proud of their work and confident of the value they provide in protecting consumers.

Millennials Are Facing $1 Trillion in Debt

More than a decade has passed since young Americans faced debt levels this high.   Debt among 19 to 29-year-old Americans exceeded $1 trillion at the end of 2018, according to the New York Federal Reserve Consumer Credit Panel. That’s the highest debt exposure for the youngest adult group since late 2007.

Attorney General Becerra, Senator Jackson Introduce Legislation to Strengthen, Clarify California Consumer Privacy Act

SACRAMENTO – California Attorney General Xavier Becerra and Senator Hannah-Beth Jackson today unveiled SB 561, legislation to strengthen and clarify the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). The CCPA is landmark legislation passed in 2018 that provides groundbreaking protections for consumers in their ability to control the use of their personal data. California is the first in the nation to pass a law giving consumers this right. SB 561 helps improve the workability of the law by clarifying the Attorney General’s advisory role in providing general guidance on the law, ensuring a level playing field for businesses that play by the rules, and giving consumers the ability to enforce their new rights under the CCPA in court.

FTC Approves Final Order with SoFi

Following a public comment period, the Federal Trade Commission has approved a final consent order with SoFi, resolving allegations that it misrepresented how much money student loan borrowers have saved or will save from refinancing their loans with the company.

Debt Settlement Market to Witness Huge Growth (658.37 million $): Freedom Debt Relief, National Debt Relief, Rescue One Financial

HTF MI released a new market study on Global Debt Settlement Market with 100+ market data Tables, Pie Chat, Graphs & Figures spread through Pages and easy to understand detailed analysis. At present, the market is developing its presence. The Research report presents a complete assessment of the Market and contains a future trend, current growth factors, attentive opinions, facts, and industry validated market data. The research study provides estimates for Global Debt Settlement Forecast till 2025*. Some are the key players taken under coverage for this study are Freedom Debt Relief, National Debt Relief, Rescue One Financial, ClearOne Advantage, New Era Debt Solutions, Pacific Debt, Accredited Debt Relief, CuraDebt Systems

CSBS and OCC battle over discovery in lawsuit challenging fintech charter

Earlier this month, the Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS) filed a brief opposing the OCC’s motion to dismiss the second lawsuit filed by CSBS to stop the OCC from issuing special purpose national bank (SPNB) charters to fintech companies.  That brief was accompanied by an “Alternative Motion for Leave to Conduct Discovery” filed by CSBS. The OCC argued in its motion to dismiss that CSBS cannot have standing to sue until the OCC approves an application for an SPNB charter because only then could a CSBS member suffer an injury in fact.  According to the OCC, since it is still several stages away from actually granting an SPNB charter, the matter continues to be both constitutionally and prudentially unripe for judicial review.

Hacks On UK Financial Services Firms Jump In 2018

The Circuit Split Over the Definition of ATDS Under the TCPA Continues

When the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) was enacted in 1991, most American consumers were using landline phones, and Congress could not begin to contemplate the evolution of the mobile phone. The TCPA defines Automatic Telephone Dialing System” (ATDS) as “equipment which has the capacity—(A) to store or produce telephone numbers to be called, using a random or sequential number generator; and (B) to dial such numbers.” 47 U.S.C § 227(a)(1).  In 2015, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) issued its 2015 Declaratory Ruling & Order (2015 Order), concerning clarifications on the TCPA for the mobile era, including the definition of “Automatic Telephone Dialing System” (ATDS) and what devices qualify. The 2015 Order only complicated matters further, providing an expansive interpretation for what constitutes an ATDS, and sparking a surge of TCPA lawsuits in recent years.

FTC Announces Agenda for the Tenth Session of its Hearings on Competition and Consumer Protection in the 21st Century

The Federal Trade Commission today announced the agenda for the tenth session of its Hearings Initiative. The session, focused on competition and consumer protection issues in broadband markets, will take place on March 20, 2019 at the Constitution Center Auditorium at 400 7th St., SW, Washington D.C. The hearing originally was scheduled for January 16, 2019, but was postponed due to the government shutdown

LENDIT FINTECH USA 2019 APRIL 8-9 IN SAN FRANCISCO, CA

LendIt Fintech is excited to be back in San Francisco, a concentrated fintech hub for some of the most innovative and fastest growing fintech companies in the world.  They are expecting about 5,000+ attendees and will have some exciting names to announce as speakers in the coming weeks. There will also be 2,000+ fintech-focused companies looking to network and do business with you.  LendIt Fintech attracts thousands of fintech decision makers from the world’s most influential companies.  LendIt Fintech USA 2019 will be held at the Moscone West, San Francisco, April 8-9.   DebtConnection.com is a media sponsor for LendIt Fintech USA2019.  Register for LendIt Fintech 2019 using DC15% at https://www.lendit.com/usa/2019.

Cybersecurity for small business: Secure remote access

Punching a time clock in and out isn’t how small businesses run these days. Employees are on the road, others are working from home, vendors are accessing your data at off hours – and you’re generating ideas 24/7. How do you maintain high security standards when employees and others may need to connect to your network remotely from a variety of devices? When we met with small business owners across the country, that question came up a lot. As part of our Cybersecurity for Small Business campaign, we have a fact sheet of things to consider in securing remote access to your network.

What is cryptojacking? The silent hack that should concern cyber insurers

When we think of cyber-attacks, we don’t tend to picture the quiet mining of cryptocurrency – but that’s exactly what’s involved in cryptojacking. The 2017 WannaCry, Petya and NotPetya attacks unveiled just how formidable the reach of hackers has grown, but a cyber-attack doesn’t have to cause widespread damage to be deadly. Cryptojacking – also known as a cryptomining attack – is the most common cyber threat to businesses and, unlike in the 2017 attacks, victims might not even realise they’re infected. A 2018 report from Cyber Security company Webroot showed that cryptojacking had replaced ransomware as the most common cyber-attack.

U.S. banks record $59.1 billion in profits in fourth-quarter of 2018

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. banking sector recorded $59.1 billion in profits in the fourth quarter of 2018, down slightly from the third quarter’s record level but still up significantly from the prior year, according to data from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.

Fintechs help boost US personal loan surge to a record $138 billion

Americans are turning to up-and-coming fintech firms instead of traditional banking options to pile on debt. The unsecured personal loan market hit an all-time high last year, surging 17 percent year over year to $138 billion, according to data from TransUnion released Thursday. Digital-first financial technology companies were largely responsible for that momentum. “The rapid growth in consumer loans sits squarely on the shoulders of fintechs,” said Jason Laky, senior vice president and leader of TransUnion’s consumer lending line of business. “They continue to be the main driver.”

How will CFPB’s payday rule changes affect CUs?

The CFPB has issued two proposals related to its 2017 payday lending rule: One to remove mandatory underwriting requirements – including ability-to-repay (ATR) provisions – and one to delay the rule's implementation date by 15 months, to Nov. 19, 2020. NAFCU is seeking credit unions' feedback on how these changes would impact the industry and what other revisions the bureau should consider.

40 million Americans expect to miss a credit card payment in 2019, says new survey

40 million Americans say they'll miss at least one credit card payment in 2019, according to a new survey by Wallethub.    Wallethub, a personal finance site, conducted the survey to examine the realities of credit card debt on Americans across demographics. 16% of respondents said that they will likely miss a payment this year, a figure that works out to about 40 million people. 

FinTechs Continue to Drive Personal Loan Growth

The FinTech revolution has propelled unsecured personal loans to another record-breaking quarter. TransUnion’s (NYSE: TRU) Q4 2018 Industry Insights Report found that personal loan balances increased $21 billion in the last year to close 2018 at a record high of $138 billion. Much of this growth was driven by online loans originated by FinTechs.

Attorney General Becerra and Assemblymember Levine Unveil Legislation to Strengthen Data Breach Notification Law

SACRAMENTO – California Attorney General Xavier Becerra and Assemblymember Marc Levine (D-San Rafael) today unveiled AB 1130, legislation to strengthen California’s data breach notification law to protect consumers. The bill closes a loophole in the state’s existing data breach notification law by requiring businesses to notify consumers of compromised passport numbers and biometric information.

Forget Phishing and Ransomware. Formjacking Is the New Favorite Hack of Cyber Crooks

Every month, thousands of retail websites are targeted by cyber criminals, who insert a small piece of malicious code that allows them to snatch customers’ credit card information. The hacking technique is called formjacking, and it’s the virtual equivalent of putting a device on an ATM to skim debit card numbers.

CallMiner and Morae Global Announce Partnership to Deliver Conversational Behavioral Analytics for Financial Services Risk Mitigation and Regulatory Compliance

WALTHAM, MA – February 21, 2019 – CallMiner, the leading provider of award-winning speech and customer engagement analytics platform CallMiner Eureka, announced today a partnership with Morae Global Corporation, a full-service, technology-enabled, integrated solution provider for the legal and compliance function. The new partnership combines CallMiner’s speech analytics for behavioral insight with Morae Global’s unique expertise in legal risk and compliance for financial services to spotlight threats that model-based solutions are incapable of capturing.

FCC Proposes New Rules to Target Caller ID Spoofing and Issues Report on the Fight Against Illegal Robocalls

While the FCC continues to tread carefully in evaluating the thorny issue of how broadly to interpret  the TCPA’s definition of “automated telephone dialing system,” particularly as it confronts proposed legislation that, if adopted, would ultimately expand the reach of the TPCA, the Commission has decided to move forward with some less controversial issues.  In particular, the Commission’s leadership took two actions last week as part of an effort to address mounting concerns about the influx of unwanted and illegal robocalls, particularly including the prevalent use of fake caller ID information to dupe consumers into answering the phone when a telemarketer calls or, even worse, providing sensitive information based on a false impression that they are speaking to a reputable company or government agency. 

States, consumer groups blast CFPB’s fintech protections

State attorneys general, consumer advocates, community activists, and banking regulators are criticizing proposed legal protections for banks and technology firms that develop “innovative” financial products. The protections would come from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which in December unveiled what it calls a “regulatory sandbox” that will allow firms to develop untested fintech products and services without fear of reprisals from regulators. While the criticism rolls in, financial industry groups are rallying behind the plan, even asking the CFPB to expand the legal safe havens.

Receivables Management Association International Honors Outstanding Members

February 7, 2019 (Sacramento, CA) – Leaders from Receivables Management Association International (RMAI) honored outstanding members this week at the association’s 22nd Annual Conference—in Las Vegas, Nevada.

TrueAccord Chooses Lenexa, Kansas, for Operations Center

TrueAccord, a San Francisco-based fintech company, will invest $1.34 million in a new shared services operation in Lenexa, Kansas.   According to Kansas City Area Development Council, TrueAccord will create more than 150 jobs in a 12,000-sq.-ft. office space at 16011 College Boulevard in Lenexa.

Second Circuit Upholds Personal Liability of Individual Owner for Payday Debt Collection Companies’ FTCA and FDCPA Violations

The Second Circuit recently upheld a decision finding two individual co-owners personally liable for nearly $11 million for their companies’ violations of the Federal Trade Commission Act (FTCA) and Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). The companies’ business consisted largely of collecting payday loan debts they had purchased.

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ACA International Spring Forum & Expo 2019

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LendIt Fintech USA 2019

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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