Kelli Edmonds To Faciliate Auto Finance Peer Group at CRS2020

Happy to announce that Kelli Edmonds of Santander will once again facilitate the Auto Finance Peer Group break out session at Collection and Recovery Solutions 2020.  This group meets on Thursday afternoon, May 7th, and provides an opportunity for auto finance creditors to meet and discuss issues and concerns related to collection and recovery. (Sorry, no vendors allowed to these breakout discussions.) Kelli Edmonds is the Senior Vice President - Vendor Management at Santander Consumer USA with oversight of third party relationships at an enterprise level. Collections and Recovery Solutions 2020 will be held May 6th - 8th at the Four Seasons in Las Vegas.  In addition to a packed agenda, this year will include a special pre-conference "Skip Strategies" session on Tuesday afternoon, from 1:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.  Check www.crs2020.com for more details.

CoreLogic Reports U.S. Overall Delinquency Rate Lowest for a November in at Least 20 Years

IRVINE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--CoreLogic^® (NYSE: CLGX), a leading global property information, analytics and data-enabled solutions provider, today released its monthly Loan Performance Insights Report. The report shows that nationally, 3.9% of mortgages were in some stage of delinquency (30 days or more past due, including those in foreclosure) in November 2019, representing a 0.1 percentage point decline in the overall delinquency rate compared with November 2018, when it was 4%.

SUPERINTENDENT LINDA A. LACEWELL ANNOUNCES DFS CONSUMER PROTECTION HEARINGS

Building on Governor Cuomo’s sweeping consumer protection proposals included in the 2020 State of the State agenda, Financial Services Superintendent Linda A. Lacewell today announced that the Department of Financial Services (DFS) will be holding consumer protection hearings to hear directly from New York consumers about their experiences with financial products and services, such as debt collection, auto lending practices, access to banking and financial services, and other consumer related issues.

Private Tax Debt Collection Getting Results but Remains Controversial, Says CRS

The latest iteration of a program in which private collection agencies, or PCAs, are used to attempt to collect on overdue tax debt has yielded about $170 million to the Treasury but controversy remains over such programs, the Congressional Research Service has said.

Three New Jobs Posted on DebtConnection.com

DebtConnection.com is a proven, cost-effective way to help industry leaders focus their energy on finding the “right” partners for their organization while minimizing wasted time, money and effort.  DebtConnection.com lists white papers and other resources, and provides an opportunity for job postings as well.  Find your next chapter here.

DebtConnection.com is an internet resource that combines a user friendly format with a powerful database search engine and decision making capabilities to connect Debt Sellers, Debt Buyers, Creditors and Debt Owners, Collection Agencies and Attorneys, and Industry Product and Service Providers. Users can browse and list debt portfolios for sale, research industry related information on training and service providers, market products to the highest-level industry professionals and keep up to date on the latest industry news and events.

TCN IS EXHIBITING AT THE COLLECTION AND RECOVERY SOLUTIONS 2020!

Collection and Recovery Solutions is proud to announce that TCN will be exhibiting at this year’s conference, May 6-8 in Las Vegas, NV at the Four Seasons Hotel Las Vegas.  Be sure to visit them in booth 8 in the Expo Hall.

TCN is a leading provider of cloud-based call center technology for enterprises, contact centers, BPOs, and collection agencies worldwide. Founded in 1999, TCN combines a deep understanding of the needs of call center users with a highly affordable delivery model, ensuring immediate access to robust call center technology, such as SMS, email, predictive dialer, IVR, call recording, and business analytics required to optimize operations while adhering to callers requests. Its “always-on” cloud-based delivery model provides customers with immediate access to the latest version of the TCN solution, as well as the ability to quickly and easily scale and adjust to evolving business needs.

Wells Fargo splits wholesale, consumer banking units

Wells Fargo plans to split its three business units into five, a move CEO Charlie Scharf said will provide more accountability across the bank, it announced Tuesday.

Charging into Adulthood: Credit Cards and Young Consumers

The New York Fed’s Center for Microeconomic Data today released the Quarterly Report on Household Debt and Credit for the fourth quarter of 2019. Total household debt balances grew by $193 billion in the fourth quarter, marking a $601 billion increase in household debt balances in 2019, the largest annual gain since 2007. 

U.S. household debt tops $14 trillion and reaches new record

(Reuters) - American households added $193 billion of debt in the fourth quarter, driven by a surge in mortgage loans, and overall debt levels rose to a new record at $14.15 trillion, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said on Tuesday.

Consumer credit rises due to revolving credit boost

A NAFCU Macro Data Flash report highlights new data from the Federal Reserve showing total consumer credit rose at a seasonally-adjusted, annualized rate of 6.3 percent in December and is up 4.5 percent from a year ago.

FTC to Examine Past Acquisitions by Large Technology Companies

The Federal Trade Commission issued Special Orders to five large technology firms, requiring them to provide information about prior acquisitions not reported to the antitrust agencies under the Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) Act. The orders require Alphabet Inc. (including Google), Amazon.com, Inc., Apple Inc., Facebook, Inc., and Microsoft Corp. to provide information and documents on the terms, scope, structure, and purpose of transactions that each company consummated between Jan. 1, 2010 and Dec. 31, 2019.

FTC Acts to Stop Deceptive Ad Sales to Small Businesses

Two Oregon-based media production companies and their owner have agreed to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that they deceptively pitched “exclusive” advertising placements to small businesses and misled them about when the ads would be printed and distributed. The stipulated court order settling the FTC’s complaint bans the defendants from such deceptive conduct and requires them to pay $100,000.

Fifth Third: Bank employees stole, gave out customer info

CRE Lending Momentum Remains Strong Through Q4

The CBRE Lending Momentum Index, tracking the pace of U.S. commercial loan closings, reached a value of 263 in December 2019, virtually unchanged from its third-quarter 2019 close and up 4.2% from a year ago. CBRE attributed this to the Federal Reserve’s interest rate reductions, combined with continued economic growth. “A favorable capital markets environment for real estate continued to support strong commercial lending activity into year-end,” said CBRE’s Brian Stoffers. “Alternative lenders should remain a plentiful source of lending capital in 2020, particularly for bridge and construction loans.”

Fintech Lending Industry to Hit $390.5B Value by 2023

Although traditional banks still hold the largest market share for consumer and business loans, there has been a considerable demand for fintech lending in recent years. Global Fintech lending, or the alternative loans industry will hit a $312.6bn transaction value this year, growing by 17% year-on-year, according to data gathered by LearnBonds.com. The rising trend, highlighted by peer-to-peer firms Lending club in the US or Funding Circle in the UK, is set to continue, with the entire market reaching $390.5bn value by 2023.

Hawley Proposes Massive Overhaul Of FTC To Relocate Agency Under DOJ

Missouri Republican Sen. Josh Hawley proposed a comprehensive overhaul of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Monday in the senator’s latest move to reign in big tech. The proposal, aimed primarily at strengthening the FTC to regulate Silicon Valley, would restructure the independent federal agency and move it under the jurisdiction of the Department of Justice. “The FTC isn’t working,” Hawley said in a statement announcing his proposal. “It wastes time in turf wars with the DOJ, nobody is accountable for decisions, and it lacks the ‘teeth’ to get after Big Tech’s rampant abuses… This is about bringing the FTC into the 21st century.”

CFPB, Citizens, and Credit Card Dispute Management: Too Little Too Late or Gotcha?

CFPB filed a lawsuit against Citizens Bank over the handling of credit card account disputes.    While we are not close enough to the details to opine on the merits of the case or the defense, we note that disputes will represent 25 million items by 2022 as U.S. credit cards approach 70 billion transactions. Growth is linear; it does not mean that disputes are running out of control.  As cards continue to displace cash transactions, the industry will add high volume/low value transactions.  This will add to the unit cost of dispute resolution.  

Symposium: Justices to consider constitutionality of CFPB structure

The congressional commission that investigated the 2008 financial crisis concluded that the United States’ consumer-protection system was “too fragmented to be effective.” In response to that finding, in 2010 Congress created the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau as part of the Dodd-Frank Act. The CFPB – whose website describes the bureau as a “U.S. government agency that makes sure banks, lenders, and other financial companies treat you fairly” – is led by one director appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate to serve a five-year term; once confirmed, the president can only remove her for “inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office.” On March 3, the Supreme Court will hear oral argument in a challenge to the constitutionality of that leadership structure.

US charges 4 members of Chinese military with Equifax hack

New FTC Data Spotlight: Fake Check Scams Cause Big Losses, Especially for Consumers in Their Twenties

A new update from the Federal Trade Commission shows that fake check scams led to reported individual median losses of nearly $2,000 – losses far higher than on any other of the top ten scams reported to the FTC. According to the new data analysis, consumers in their twenties are more than twice as likely as people 30 and older to report losing money to these scams.

Consumer credit jumps in December

The numbers: Consumer borrowing surged in December, as consumers used credit cards to make holiday purchases, according to Federal Reserve data released Friday. Total consumer credit increased $22.1 billion. That’s an annual growth rate of 6.3%, up from a 3.4% rate in the prior month. Economists has been expecting a $15 billion gain, according to Econoday.

Banks, fintech startups clash over ‘the new oil’ — your data

The nation’s banks are locked in a bitter fight with upstart technology companies over the control of their customers' financial data — and the consumers whose personal information is at stake are mostly spectators.

‘A major, major initiative’: California wants to create its own Consumer Finance Protection Bureau

Frustrated with federal inaction, California aims to build a “mini” version of a federal agency that is tasked with consumer protection. Billing it as California’s version of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), Governor Gavin Newsom revealed in his proposed 2020-2021 state budget that the new entity — a Department of Financial Protection and Innovation — intends to “cement California’s consumer protection leadership amidst a retreat on that front by federal agencies including the [CFPB] and “provide consumers greater protection from predatory practices.”

Maze ransomware spree continues amid advisories from French, FBI officials

Roughly a month after the FBI advised U.S. companies to protect themselves against a pernicious strain of ransomware, hackers have continued to attack victims and threaten to publicize their private information. A hacking group deploying Maze ransomware has used a network of websites to publicly identify organizations it claimed to hack, and which of them refused to pay a ransom.

Save the date for the ‘Evolutions in Consumer Debt Relief’

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will host a day-long convening, 'Evolutions in Consumer Debt Relief.' The event will explore options for consumers facing unmanageable unsecured debt and limited credit options.

Waters to Kraninger: America Needs Better From You

Today, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Chairwoman of the House Committee on Financial Services, delivered the following opening statement during a full Committee hearing entitled, “Protecting Consumers or Allowing Consumer Abuse? A Semi-Annual Review of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.”

Kraninger speaks on constitutionality, payday during semi-annual hearing

CFPB Director Kathy Kraninger – during a House Financial Services Committee hearing to review the bureau Thursday – reinforced her position to no longer defend the bureau's single-director structure in a lawsuit set to be considered by the Supreme Court in March.

Eleventh Circuit Endorses Narrow Definition of TCPA Autodialer Creating Circuit Split

On January 27, 2020, a federal court of appeals issued a significant decision interpreting the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (commonly referred to as the “TCPA”) in a way that limits the expansive potential liability companies face under the statute. In Glasser v. Hilton Grand Vacations Company, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit reached three significant conclusions:

The Fed faces a housing conundrum

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell may have a problem on his hands. Buoyed by three interest-rate cuts, not only did the U.S. housing market stand as a pillar of economic support in 2019, it largely offset the protracted slowdown in business investment. Now, though, cracks have begun to appear in housing.

Mortgage rates fall to lowest level since 2016 — this could be the ‘last affordable’ spring home-buying season for a while, Realtor group warns

Mortgage rates have dropped to the lowest levels since before the 2016 presidential election. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 3.45% during the week ending Feb. 6, a decrease of six basis points from the previous week, Freddie Mac FMCC, -1.41%   reported Thursday. This was the third consecutive week in which mortgage rates dropped. The last time the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was at or below this level was in October 2016, when it averaged 3.42%.

As Mortgage Rates Skid, Homeowners Rush to Refinance and Save

tumbling mortgage rates, which have dropped to the lowest levels in years and have reached all-time lows for midwinter. Applications for mortgage refinance loans have spiked and are coming in at the fastest pace in six and a half years, a trade group says." data-reactid="31">Homeowners are responding in a big way to tumbling mortgage rates, which have dropped to the lowest levels in years and have reached all-time lows for midwinter. Applications for mortgage refinance loans have spiked and are coming in at the fastest pace in six and a half years, a trade group says.  But owners who decide to swap out their mortgages and stay in their homes aren't helping to relieve the shortage of houses for sale. Would-be buyers keep struggling to find homes they want, and they've become less eager to borrow.

Compare private vs. federal student loan interest rates

If you're taking out student loans to fund your education, you'll be charged interest. It's the price you pay for borrowing money and it's most often calculated as a percentage of the amount borrowed. Loans with higher interest rates cost more, as do loans with longer repayment timelines because you pay interest over a longer period. Both federal student loans and private student loans charge interest, although there are some important differences between how it's treated by each of these two loan types.

CFPB seeks $39M restitution, $7 fine from payday lender Think Finance

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced a proposed settlement Wednesday with Think Finance and six of its subsidiaries. The payday lender will have to reimburse consumers $39 million and pay the CFPB $7, one for each of the company's enitities. 

Report: Lenders Use Educational Data to Discriminate

Financial companies often use data on borrowers' higher education to determine access to credit and the price of consumer financial products. And those education data can lead to redlining, a form of discrimination against borrowers who attended community colleges, historically black colleges and universities, or Hispanic-serving institutions.

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Settles Lawsuit Against Think Finance Entities

Washington, D.C. — The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (Bureau) today announced a proposed settlement with Think Finance, LLC, formerly known as Think Finance, Inc., and six subsidiaries (collectively, the “Think Finance Entities”), to resolve the Bureau’s lawsuit, which the Bureau filed on November 15, 2017. The Bureau alleged that the Think Finance Entities engaged in unfair, deceptive, and abusive acts and practices in violation of the Consumer Financial Protection Act in connection with the illegal collection of loans that were void in whole or in part under state laws governing interest rate caps, the licensing of lenders, or both.

Directors Elected to Lead Receivables Management Association International in 2020

February 6, 2020 (Sacramento, CA) – Members of Receivables Management Association International (RMAI) elected Directors and Officers to its Board yesterday at the association’s annual conference. Of the ten-member Board, nine are continuing service from the previous year (some in new roles) and one is serving her first term. The 2020 Directors and Officers are:

The government is finally cracking down on robocall enablers

The government has cracked down on some robocallers, even going so far as to fine one alleged robocaller $100 million.    But for a long time, companies that allow robocallers to use their services have been left to do their thing — and in the process unleashed billions of robocalls on the annoyed public. The involvement of many voice-over-IP — internet-based phone — companies in enabling robocalling has been a dirty secret in the telecom industry.  

NAFCU, trades ask FCC for autodialer definition

In a follow up to a petition filed in May 2018, NAFCU Wednesday joined with more than a dozen other trade groups and stakeholders to ask the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to clarify the definition of automatic telephone dialing system (ATDS) under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. The coalition previously petitioned the FCC for clarification following an appeals court's decision that invalidated the FCC's autodialer definition.

Fintech Market Expected to Eclipse $390B

LearnBonds reported Wednesday that while traditional banks still hold the largest share for consumers and businesses, fintech lending is beginning to make its move in the market. The report states that fintech lending will hit a $312.6 billion transaction value—growing 17% annually. The market is expected to reach $390.5 in value by 2023.

Statement of Director Kraninger before House Financial Services Committee

Chairwoman Waters, Ranking Member McHenry, and Members of the Committee, thank you for this opportunity to provide our semiannual update on the Bureau’s important work. It is my honor and privilege to serve and protect American consumers.   To best achieve our mission for consumers, the Bureau is focused on preventing harm in the first place. We prevent harm by building a culture of compliance throughout the financial system while supporting free and competitive markets that provide for informed consumer choice. 

CFPB, Banking Regulators, and Others Adjust Civil Monetary Penalties for Inflation

In January 2020, regulators including the CFPB, Federal Reserve Board, NCUA, OCC, FDIC, FTC, and FCC, each published a final rule in the Federal Register adjusting the maximum civil money penalty (CMP) amounts under their respective jurisdictions, to account for inflation. Each year, pursuant to the Federal Civil Penalties Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015, federal agencies adjust their maximum CMPs by using an inflation multiplier provided by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).  The OMB’s inflation multiplier for 2020 is 1.01764.

Court Stops Sprawling Scheme That Operated Hundreds of Websites That Deceived Consumers About Government Services

A court has granted the Federal Trade Commission’s request to preliminarily halt a scheme in which the defendants operated hundreds of websites that promised a quick and easy government service, such as renewing a driver’s license, or eligibility determinations for public benefits. Following an evidentiary hearing, the court held that the FTC was likely to prevail in proving that “the websites were patently misleading.”

Receivables Management International Honors Outstanding Members

February 5, 2020 (Sacramento, CA) – Leaders from Receivables Management Association International (RMAI) honored outstanding members this week at the association’s 2020 Annual Conference in Las Vegas, Nevada.RMAI awarded Walt Collins of Collins Asset Group, the Bud Reitzel Lifetime Commitment Award, the industry’s highest recognition.

ROYAL ICON INVESTMENTS, LLC

(702) 882-6175

D2R Collect

(855) 274-3003

The Payments Summit 2020

The Payments Summit

2020 Annual Utilities Credit & Collections Symposium

Conferences By Monticello

ACA International 2020 Spring Forum & Expo

ACA International

BUMP Collections! Dallas

A "CollectoRMSeries" course by Resource Management Services, Inc.

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.

LendIt Fintech USA

Save 15% with our Discount Code: DC15%

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