How to tell the difference between a legitimate debt collector and scammers

Dealing with debt collection issues can be challenging—especially when you’re not sure if the person you’re being contacted by is legitimate or trying to scam you.   When an account like a credit card, auto loan, or cell phone bill becomes past due, the original creditor may attempt to collect the amount owed. The creditor may also hire a debt collector or sell the debt to someone who may try to collect the debt. While there are many legitimate debt collectors in the financial marketplace, there are also scammers who may try to get you to pay on debts that you don’t owe or on debts that don’t even exist.

Fed minutes show worries about economy had eased a bit

Federal Reserve officials were more upbeat about the economy in late October than they had been only six weeks earlier, according to minutes of their policy discussion released Wednesday.  Officials “generally viewed the economic outlook as positive,” the minutes said.   “Uncertainties associated with trade tensions as well as geopolitical risks had eased somewhat, although they remained elevated,” the summary said. Officials talked about a “resilient” economy in the face of headwinds. At their meeting, the Fed voted 8 to 2 to trim rates by a quarter-point. It was the third straight meeting with a cut, bringing the benchmark fed funds rate to a range of 1.5%-1.75%.

Gen Z FICO scores beat Millennials and Gen X

Of the three American generations following the Baby Boomers, the youngest is doing better at managing its credit.  Gen Z, meaning people born in 1995 or later, has an average FICO score of 637, above the all-age average of 634, according to a report from LendingPoint, a consumer lending platform.  Gen X, the 1965 to 1980 generation that followed the Baby Boomers, has an average FICO score of 632, the report said. Millennials, born between 1981 and 1996, have an average FICO score of 629.

CFPB to consider changing or eliminating TRID rule

80% of financial app users admit not fully realizing their banking credentials are shared: survey

Right now, millions of bank customers are using third-party apps like Acorns and PayPal’s Venmo to help them manage their money, invest, borrow and send payments to people they know and trust. These kinds of apps help make our financial lives easier but they usually aren’t owned by banks. For the digital services to work, they need your banking data and often require you to share the keys to your most important digital portal: your bank account. But there is a big disconnect. Most bank customers who are using these popular apps aren’t aware of what they’re giving away, according to a new report from The Clearing House.

Millennials Most Likely to Outspend Other Generations This Holiday Season

RIVERWOODS, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Over a third of millennials plan to spend more money this holiday season compared to last year, and they will likely outspend other generations this gift-giving season, according to Discover’s annual Holiday Shopping Survey.   Millennials say higher income and more people on their shopping list are two reasons for their boost in spending. And they also will overwhelmingly use their mobile devices to shop.

CFPB Fall 2019 rulemaking agenda

The Bureau published its Fall 2019 Agenda as part of the Fall 2019 Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions,  which is coordinated by the Office of Management and Budget under Executive Order 12866.  The agenda lists the regulatory matters that the Bureau reasonably anticipates having under consideration during the period from October 1, 2019 to September 30, 2020, as described further below.  As an independent regulatory agency, the Bureau’s participation in the Unified Agenda is voluntary.  

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to Assess Integrated Mortgage Disclosure Rule

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (Bureau) is requesting public comment on an assessment it will conduct on the TRID Integrated Disclosure Rule (the Truth in Lending Act and Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act). 

Getting a new credit card to shop Black Friday? You might want to think twice

It's easy to get caught up in the holiday rush. You buy a gadget you don't need, gifts for relatives you rarely see and end up spending a lot more than you'd planned. But when you're scouting deals on Black Friday, there's a potential trap lurking that could cause a financial hangover that lasts deep into the new year: deferred interest.

NAFCU’s Hunt provides CUs with RDC update; New Compliance Blog tackles issue

NAFCU's Carrie Hunt updated credit unions and discussed unresolved legal questions relating to remote deposit capture (RDC) patent litigation in an email sent Tuesday to members. Earlier this month, a jury in Texas determined that Wells Fargo had intentionally infringed on USAA's mobile RDC patents, resulting in $200 million in damages to be paid by Wells Fargo to USAA. 

FDIC Approves the Merger Between BB&T and SunTrust

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) Board of Directors unanimously approved the Bank Merger Act (BMA) application submitted by Bank Branching and Trust Company (BB&T), Winston-Salem, NC, to merge with SunTrust Bank, Atlanta, GA. The resulting bank will operate under BB&T's charter and will be called Truist Bank. Truist Bank will be headquartered in Charlotte, NC.

California Company Settles FTC Allegations that it Falsely Claimed Participation in EU-U.S. Privacy Shield

A California company has agreed to settle Federal Trade Commission allegations that it falsely claimed participation in the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield framework, which enables companies to transfer consumer data legally from European Union countries to the United States.

OCC Proposes to Codify ‘Valid-When-Made’ Principle

Providing a long-awaited regulatory solution to court rulings challenging the principle, the OCC today proposed that interest rates valid when the loan is made by a national bank or federal thrift remain valid when the loan is transferred or sold. The FDIC is expected to propose a similar rule at its board meeting tomorrow, ensuring that “valid when made” is codified for both national and state-chartered banks.

How Fintech’s Third Wave Will Change How You Bank

The origins of today’s boom in consumer-focused “fintech,” or financial technology, trace back to the global economic meltdown in 2008. Since that disaster struck, the industry has evolved through three discrete phases, says Jason Brown, CEO and cofounder of Tally, a fintech startup, on Balancing The Ledger, Fortune’s show covering the intersection of finance and tech.

WebRecon Stats for Oct 2019: Litigation Up Across the Board

Quick analysis: Litigation Up Across the Board: FCRA Weakest in October, but Strongest in 2019.    FDCPA, TCPA and FCRA litigation were all up in October over the previous month, though what has consistently been the strongest statute in filing strength (FCRA) was far weaker than the two that have been traditionally dropping (FDCPA and TCPA). YTD trends stayed on track though, with FCRA posting a strong +8.7% increase so far in 2019, while FDCPA and TCPA were both down, -9.3% and -16% respectively.

Ontario Systems Celebrates Nearly 40 Years of History and Community Impact

Protesters accuse payday lenders of loan sharking

October sees weak auto sales despite lower interest rates

Although total vehicle sales fell to 16.5 million annualized units in October from September's rate of 17.1 million – and were down 5.3 percent from a year ago – NAFCU Chief Economist and Vice President of Research Curt Long noted that "the auto market has remained remarkably stable since 2015."

CFPB Clarifies Rule on Loan Originators with Temporary Authority

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has issued an interpretive rule clarifying screening and training requirements for financial institutions which employ loan originators with temporary authority. The interpretive rule, which takes effect Nov. 24, concludes that a loan originator organization is not required to comply with certain screening and training requirements under Regulation Z if the individual loan originator employee is authorized to act as a loan originator pursuant to the temporary authority described in the SAFE Act.

New phishing email campaign impersonates US postal service to deliver malware

A new phishing campaign that's been touring Europe has now been hitting the United States with the goal of spreading a trojan onto computers, as detailed in a report released on Thursday by Proofpoint. Phishing emails are one of the trickiest tactics employed by cybercriminals to try to lure potential victims into taking their bait. Masquerading as legitimate emails from actual organizations, such messages can often easily dupe people into clicking on the wrong link or opening the wrong file attachment, thereby being infected by malware.

Americans now have a record $14 trillion in debt

New York (CNN Business)US households are now sitting on a record $14 trillion in mortgages, credit cards, student loans and other forms of debt.   Household debt ticked up 0.7% during the third quarter, the New York Federal Reserve said on Wednesday, continuing a five-year climb encouraged by low unemployment, strong consumer confidence and cheap borrowing costs.

Why payments fraud is turning into a rise of the machines

Fraud attacks and their avenue of entry are generally regarded as mysteries to most of the companies that suffer from them.   The victims generally don’t know who is on the other side trying to get in and what they are going after, whether its money, privileged access to a network or information such as account numbers. It’s also an issue of determining whether the attacker is man or machine since that can influence the primary defensive strategy employed in response to an attack.

Compliance Blog tackles CCPA requirements for CUs

NAFCU Senior Regulatory Compliance Counsel Elizabeth LaBerge details the requirements and proposed regulations of the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) in a new post on the Compliance Blog. The CCPA, which was enacted in 2018, is set to take effect Jan. 1, 2020.

Industry and advocacy groups respond to proposed changes to FDIC’s securitization safe harbor rule

In July, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (the “FDIC”) proposed a change (discussed here and here) to certain provisions of its securitization safe harbor rule (the “Rule”) to eliminate the requirement that the securitization documents for non-grandfathered bank-sponsored securitizations not otherwise subject to Regulation AB (i.e. non-public transactions) require compliance with the disclosure and periodic reporting requirements of Regulation AB.   If adopted in its proposed form, this would significantly ease the compliance burden associated with non-public bank-sponsored ABS issuances, potentially resulting in a greater volume of such transactions.

3 Everyday Things in Your Office That Could Lead to a Data Breach

Fed: Household debt rises to record $14 trillion

U.S. household debt rose to a record $14 trillion in the third quarter, led by an increase in mortgage loans, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said on Wednesday. The current household debt level is $1.3 trillion higher than the previous peak that occurred in 2008’s third quarter. Overall household debt is now 25% above the post-crisis trough in 2013’s second quarter.

FDIC Releases Three Reports Analyzing Growth of Nonbank Lending

WASHINGTON – The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) today released a multi-part analysis of changes in the U.S. banking system since the 1950s, especially changes occurring since the financial crisis in 2008. These analyses address the shift in some lending from banks to nonbanks; how corporate borrowing has moved between banks and capital markets; and the migration of some home mortgage origination and servicing from banks to nonbanks

Auto loan originations near record high, as household debt soars

As U.S. household debt reaches a trillion-dollar milestone, more Americans are taking out vehicle loans. Auto loan balances increased by $18 billion in the third quarter, according to the household debt report released by the New York Fed on Wednesday, to $1.32 trillion. Auto loan originations — at $159 billion — were up slightly year over year, but volume is the second-highest ever recorded. “The data suggest that households are taking advantage of a low-interest-rate environment to secure credit,” Donghoon Lee, research officer at the New York Fed, said in a statement.

Local Group Files Application To Open A New Bank In Chattanooga

An organizing group, including former Chattanooga bank executives and business and community leaders, announced Thursday that they have filed an application with the Office of Comptroller of the Currency and the FDIC to charter a new local bank in Chattanooga.  The proposed name is RockPoint Bank, National Association.   

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Bayview Solutions LLC

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FTC and CFPB to Host December Workshop on Accuracy in Consumer Reporting

FTC and CFPB

2019 CFPB Research Conference

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

RMAi Annual Conference

The Payments Summit 2020

The Payments Summit

2020 Annual Utilities Credit & Collections Symposium

Conferences By Monticello

ACA International 2020 Spring Forum & Expo

ACA International

Commercial Payments International

EuroFinance

AFCC Spring Conference – 2020

NAPCP Commercial Card and Payment Conference: P-Card, Travel Card, ePayables

NAPCP

NCUCA – National Credit Union Collection Alliance 2020

NCUCA National Credit Union Collections Alliance

Collection and Recovery Solutions 2020

Collection & Recovery Solutions - produced by Resource Management Services, Inc.

National Association of Chapter 13 Trustees 2020

National Association of Chapter 13 Trustees (NACTT)

Debt Connection Symposium & Expo 2020

Resource Management Services, Inc.

Auto finance Summit 2020

Royal Media