Attorney General James Urges CFPB To Abandon Proposed Rules That Promote Discrimination In Mortgage Lending

NEW YORK – New York Attorney General Letitia James submitted two comment letters urging the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) not to adopt two new rules, which would undermine the ability to enforce fair lending laws and prevent discrimination against communities of color in the mortgage lending market.

Written Testimony of Kathleen L. Kraninger, Director, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Before the House Committee on Financial Services

Chairwoman Waters, Ranking Member McHenry, and distinguished Members of the Committee thank you for the opportunity to present the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s most recent Semi-Annual Report to Congress.  The Bureau presents these Semi-Annual Reports to Congress and the American people in fulfillment of its statutory responsibility and commitment to accountability and transparency.  The Bureau’s Spring 2019 (October 1, 2018, to March 31, 2019) Semi-Annual Report meets this mandate. My testimony is intended to highlight the contents of this Semi-Annual Report (Report).

Google Effectively Bans PayDay Lenders from Advertising their Loans

Google has banned high-interest rate lenders from the Google Play app store. First reported by WSJ.com, the move was said to be made to protect people from “exploitive personal loan terms.” The report quoted a Google spokesperson: “Our Google Play developer policies are designed to protect users and keep them safe. We expanded our financial-services policy to protect people from deceptive and exploitative personal-loan terms.” Google has long managed what could, or could not, be advertised on its platform.

Site that sells stolen credit card data hacked by cyber vigilantes

BriansClub, an underground site that offers more than 26 million stolen credit cards for sale, has been hacked in an apparent case of cyber vigilantism.
Detailed today by security researcher Brian Krebs, the attack enabled those behind it to share the stolen card details with multiple sources who work with financial institutions to identify and monitor or reissue cards that show up for sale on underground markets.

VanderSloot announces proposed reforms to medical billing and collection in Idaho

Melaleuca CEO Frank VanderSloot wants to change the way medical debt is handled in Idaho, and now he has revealed his plan to make those changes happen. VanderSloot spoke to a crowd of about 50 Idaho legislators at Melaleuca Global Headquarters.

Why Medical Data is 50 Times More Valuable Than a Credit Card

As the healthcare company lurches into embracing cloud-based technology, protecting medical data has become even more essential. While banks and other financial organizations have long been data security experts, the healthcare field has been a bit slower to protect its data, which can often be more valuable than credit cards and bank account numbers.

Debt Collection Industry Needs Language Access Laws, Says New York City Report

A September 2019 report by the New York City Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA) recommends legislation to require debt collectors to provide language access services to Limited English Proficiency (LEP) consumers.

How Has FTC Data Security Enforcement Changed?

In the wake of a federal appeals court ruling last year vacating a Federal Trade Commission enforcement action against cancer testing laboratory LabMD, the FTC's data security consent orders are becoming far more detailed and rigorous, says former FTC attorney Julie O'Neill. In June 2018, a U.S. appellate court ruled in favor of LabMD, vacating an FTC consent order that, among other things, required LabMD to establish a comprehensive information security program. In its ruling, the appeals court wrote that the FTC's consent order against LabMD "does not enjoin a specific act or practice. Instead, it mandates a complete overhaul of LabMD's data security program and says precious little about how this is to be accomplished."

Minnesota lawmakers unveil plan for legislation aimed at robocalls

Minnesota lawmakers on Monday announced plans for legislation to crack down on invasive and predatory robocalls. Rep. Zack Stephenson (DFL- Coon Rapids), House Commerce Chair Laurie Halverson (DFL- Eagan) and Majority Leader Ryan Winkler (DFL-Golden Valley) announced the plans in an effort to strengthen consumer protection rights for Minnesotans. "Minnesotans are ready for this robo-call madness to stop," Stephenson told reporters at a Capitol news conference on Monday. "We have the tools to make that happen. It's time to put them to work."

Exclusive: Turf War Blocked CFPB From Helping Fix Student Loan Forgiveness Program

Starting early last year, the nation's most powerful consumer protection agency sent examiners into companies that run student loan call centers to try to fix a troubled loan forgiveness program. But the Department of Education blocked the bureau from getting the information it needed, NPR has learned. The Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program is designed to help firefighters, military service members, nonprofit workers and others. But thousands of people say they were treated unfairly and rejected.

This week: Kraninger gives CFPB update as Congress returns

After a two-week recess, the House and Senate are back in session today. NAFCU will continue its advocacy efforts on a number of key credit union issues, including the FY 2020 National Defense Authorization Act, and CFPB Director Kathy Kraninger will provide an update on the bureau's efforts to the House Financial Services Committee and Senate Banking Committee Wednesday and Thursday, respectively.

PayThink There’s no time to dither over real-time payments

The future of the real-time payments landscape in the U.S. has never been more unclear. As it stands, The Clearing House RTP is the only live real-time payment network in the U.S. The Fed has announced its intention to build the FedNow network, which will be effectively a competitor to TCH, but we don’t know when this network will launch. To add to the confusion, Zelle is sometimes described as real time but it only clears in real time (transactions still settle via either traditional ACH or debit card rails), while Same Day ACH clears and settles in a few hours depending on the submission time, making it viable for some "real-time" use cases.

SEC, CFTC, FinCEN Warn Crypto Industry to Follow US Banking Laws

The heads of three U.S. financial regulators warned the cryptocurrency industry to abide by banking laws in a joint statement published Friday. The statement, signed by Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Chairman Heath Tarbert, Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) Director Kenneth Blanco and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Jay Clayton, “reminds” actors in the crypto space that they must comply with various banking and financial services laws in the U.S., regardless of what they call their cryptocurrencies or tokens. The agencies referred to the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA), which outlines how different financial services businesses should register with regulators.

The next Elizabeth Warren? How Katie Porter is shaking up House banking panel

WASHINGTON — Rep. Katie Porter is less recognizable nationally than other progressive Democrats elected to the House in 2018. But among watchers of the Financial Services Committee, she has become perhaps the fiercest disruptor in Congress since Elizabeth Warren. The California Democrat has quickly found the spotlight in her first year on the panel, winning admirers who see her as a champion for the consumer as well as critics who view her more as a troublemaker.

As US banks battle interest rates, loans may be silver lining

The Fed’s recent rate cuts will be in the spotlight when the big banks kick off the third-quarter earnings season this week. Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan and Wells Fargo are set to report ahead of Tuesday’s opening bell while Bank of America and Morgan Stanley will release their results in the days that follow.

CFPB to Launch Consumer Financial Law Taskforce

Governor Newsom signs legislation to fight predatory lending

SACRAMENTO — Governor Gavin Newsom today signed into law a measure protecting consumers from predatory lending practices that create “debt traps” for families already struggling financially. AB 539 by Assemblymember Monique Limόn (D-Santa Barbara) promotes affordable and accessible credit for consumers and encourages responsible lenders to offer safer loan alternatives. The bill bars payday lenders from charging high interest rates – sometimes as high as 200 percent – on loans between $2,500 and $10,000.

CFPB Announces Taskforce on Federal Consumer Financial Law

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (Bureau) today announced that it will establish a taskforce to examine ways to harmonize and modernize federal consumer financial laws.   The Taskforce on Federal Consumer Financial Law will examine the existing legal and regulatory environment facing consumers and financial services providers and report to Director Kraninger its recommendations for ways to improve and strengthen consumer financial laws and regulations. The taskforce will produce new research and legal analysis of consumer financial laws in the United States, focusing specifically on harmonizing, modernizing, and updating the enumerated consumer credit laws—and their implementing regulations—and identifying gaps in knowledge that should be addressed through research, ways to improve consumer understanding of markets and products, and potential conflicts or inconsistencies in existing regulations and guidance.

CFPB issues final HMDA rule

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued its final rule for the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act, which could lessen the burden for some smaller lenders. Under the new rule, the current temporary threshold for collecting and reporting data about open-end lines of credit under HMDA will be extended for two years until January 1, 2022. The current temporary threshold is 500 open-ended lines of credit. For data collection years 2020 and 2021, financial institutions that originated fewer than 500 open-end lines of credit in either of the two preceding calendar years will not need to collect and report data with respect to open-end lines of credit.

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Issues Final HMDA Rule to Provide Relief to Smaller Institutions

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (Bureau) today issued a rule which finalizes certain aspects of its May 2019 Notice of Proposed Rulemaking under the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA). It extends for two years the current temporary threshold for collecting and reporting data about open-end lines of credit under HMDA. The rule also clarifies partial exemptions from certain HMDA requirements which Congress added in the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act (EGRRCPA).

Convoke Onboards Three New Credit Issuers

ARLINGTON, Va., Oct. 10, 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. This release includes the onboarding of three new credit issuers, as well its continued development of existing functionality.

The CFPB Ombudsman’s Office celebrates the 2nd Annual Ombuds Day

Today, the CFPB Ombudsman’s Office is celebrating the 2nd annual Ombuds Day!   What is Ombuds Day? It is a day to increase awareness and help educate about the ombudsman profession.   Who is celebrating Ombuds Day? Many organizations worldwide are celebrating—from all levels of government, private industry, and educational institutions—that have a resource dedicated to this unique approach to conflict resolution. 

Amex announces data breach amidst cybersecurity month

A former American Express (Amex) employee potentially accessed the personally identifiable information – including names, card numbers, addresses, and Social Security numbers – of an undisclosed number of customers with the intent to open accounts at other financial institutions. Amex began notifying costumers of the data breach last week.

Upgrade Card Combines Credit Card Acceptance With Installment Payments Flexibility

Twelve years ago, LendingClub Founder Renaud Laplanche built a business to help consumers manage the $800 million in outstanding credit card debt. That product was an unsecured personal loan that consolidated the debt into a lower interest option with fixed monthly payments.

Misplaced Student Loan Blame

During a U.S. House of Representatives subcommittee hearing on the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program last month, Democrats held a seat open for the top executive from a loan servicer responsible for managing the program. The servicer, the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency, has been under fire for its alleged mismanagement of the program. And the absence of PHEAA's president and CEO, who noted in a letter to the committee that the company was bound by federal laws and regulations, didn’t do anything to mollify concerns of lawmakers on the committee. The scrutiny of PHEAA is emblematic of the place servicers have come to occupy in the debate over the federal student loan program.

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