CFPB Releases Report on Debt Settlements and Credit Counseling

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (Bureau) released a report today examining recent trends in debt settlement and credit counseling. Many Americans struggle with their debts, especially during times of crisis. Today’s report documents changes over time in how consumers have used these debt relief options for unsecured debt.

Social engineering hacks weaken cyber security during the pandemic

Every aspect of the Covid-19 crisis has been exploited by opportunistic hackers, terrorists, and other criminals. In addition to capitalising on rampant fear, uncertainty, and doubt, attackers are targeting a fresh new honeypot of federal aid, in the form of payouts from unemployment checks, stimulus checks, and the Paycheck Protection Program.

Supreme Court protects TCPA, surgically severing government-debt-collection exception rather than nullifying entire Act

Two months to the day after closely-watched oral argument,¹ Justice Brett Kavanaugh on Monday, July 6, 2020, handed down the Supreme Court’s opinion in Barr v. American Association of Political Consultants, Inc., et al. striking and severing the government-debt exception to the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA or the Act), which exception he characterized as “about as content-based as it gets.” ² 47 U.S.C.A. § 227(b)(1)(A)(iii). Because the government conceded at oral argument that the government-debt exception could not pass muster under strict scrutiny, the Court necessarily found that the exception imposed an unconstitutional content-based speech restriction in violation of the First Amendment.

California Bill to Establish Nation’s Second Public Bank Applauded as ‘Historic Challenge to Wall Street Domination’

In a move advocacy groups celebrated as a "historic challenge to Wall Street domination of municipal finances," a pair of California state lawmakers on Thursday unveiled legislation that would establish the nation's second publicly-owned bank and empower the institution to lend to businesses and local governments fighting to stay afloat amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

FTC to Host Virtual Workshop July 13 on Proposed Changes to Safeguards Rule

The Federal Trade Commission will host a virtual workshop to seek input on proposed changes to the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act’s Safeguards Rule, which requires financial institutions to develop, implement, and maintain a comprehensive information security program.

Chicago Ticketing Enforcement, Debt Collection Returning to Normal

The city of Chicago's ticketing enforcement and debt collection practices will begin returning to normal Wednesday with the start of the new month, officials say.

Wells Fargo pledges $400 million in support of small business after PPP payout

(Reuters) - Wells Fargo & Co (WFC.N) will donate over $400 million toward helping small businesses recover from the coronavirus pandemic, giving away all proceeds from its participation in the Payroll Protection Program.  At least $28 million is earmarked for non-profit community lenders catering to Black entrepreneurs, the bank said.  “The hardest hit business in this are minority owned,” president of consumer banking Mary Mack said in an interview.

Fintech disruptor SoFi wants to become a national bank — again

Fintech company SoFi has filed an application for a national bank charter with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), according to a report from Business Insider citing a company-wide email it reviewed. In that email, CEO Anthony Noto said that the personal finance start-up “thought long and hard about embarking on this path, and are proud of what we have accomplished in the last 2+ years to position ourselves to take this next critical strategic step in our development.”

Interplay of Main Street Lending Program Documents: the Rights and Role of the Main Street

The $600 billion Main Street Loan program has been highly anticipated to provide financial support in the form of loans to small and medium-sized U.S. businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Federal Reserve Bank of Boston that is administering the Main Street Loan program has released term sheets and various other program documents for the three types of loans, “New,” “Priority” and “Expanded,” as well as over 70 pages of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs). As a result, the contours of the Main Street Loan program are now substantially settled[1] as the Fed announced publicly on Monday, July 6, that the Main Street Lending Program is now fully operational and ready to purchase participations in eligible loans that are submitted to the program by registered lenders (Eligible Lenders).

What to expect as banks report earnings: more loan pain but plenty of fee income

The largest U.S. banks will announce their second-quarter results next week. Investors should expect another big hit to earnings as banks set aside more money to cover expected loan losses. On the other hand, the big banks are also continuing to see a boost to fee income from elevated investment-banking and trading activity, even as the coronavirus crisis continues.

Consumer credit fell at a slower 5.3% in May as the economy began to recover

The numbers: Consumer borrowing fell at a slower 5.3% annual pace in May after a huge decline in April, as the economy began to recovery from the deepest downturn in American history. Total consumer credit dropped by an annual rate of $18.2 billion in May, compared to a much larger $70.2 billion plunge in April, according to Federal Reserve data released Wednesday. What happened: Revolving credit, like credit cards, declined at a nearly 29% clip in May. In April, revolving credit shrank by a record 65%.

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Takes Action Against Student-Loan Debt-Relief Business and Its Owners for Taking Illegal Advance Fees

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (Bureau) settled with Timemark, Inc., a company based in Deerfield Beach, Florida, that provides debt-relief services to consumers with federal student-loan debt, and with its owners and officers, Timothy Lenihan, Sr., Mark Nagler, and Casey Gassaway. The Bureau alleged that the defendants charged illegal advance fees in violation of the Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR) to consumers who were seeking to renegotiate, settle, reduce, or alter the terms of their loans. If entered by the court, the proposed order memorializing the settlement will permanently ban defendants from providing debt-relief services and impose a judgment totaling approximately $3.8 million in consumer redress and civil money penalties.

BBB Warning: Texas Attorney General sues student loan debt relief company after extensive BBB investigation

My Education Solutions (MES), a San Antonio based student loan debt relief company, claims its program and services successfully reduce student loan debt by helping consumers qualify and enroll in federal student loan forgiveness programs.

FTC Sends More than $1 Million in Refunds to Victims of Student Loan Debt Relief Scam

The Federal Trade Commission is mailing checks totaling more than $1 million to individuals who lost money to a student loan debt relief scam.

Spring 2020 Rulemaking Agenda

The Bureau has published its Spring 2020 Agenda as part of the Spring 2020 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 we expect to focus on between May 1, 2020 and April 30, 2021.

FICO’s new Resilience Index shows how much of a credit risk you could be in a recession, but it doesn’t replace your credit score

Credit scores are one of the most important numbers for your personal finances. While many people are familiar with popular scoring models like FICO and VantageScore, new models and updates can offer lenders improved measures of risk. The new FICO Resilience Index does just that.

SAM, Inc. Becomes Certified Broker by RMAi

Pittsburgh, PA – July 7, 2020 – Solutions for Account Management, Inc., better known as ‘SAM’, today announced that it has earned the highly regarded designation of Certified Receivables Vendor (CRV) after fulfilling the comprehensive national standards contained in RMAI’s Receivables Management Certification Program (RMCP). These standards have been recognized for exceeding state and federal laws and regulations through a series of stringent requirements that stress responsible consumer protection through increased transparency and operational controls.

Supreme Court rules against law allowing debt-collection robocalls to cell phones

The US Supreme Court decided today that debt collectors can no longer make robocalls to cell phones (via Ars Technica). In doing so, the court has ruled that the prior provision to the law violated the First Amendment by favoring debt-collection speech over other kinds of speech. 

Texas AG sues San Antonio-based student loan debt relief company after BBB investigation

AUSTIN - The Texas Attorney General's office has filed a lawsuit against a San Antonio-based student loan debt relief company after an extensive investigation by the Better Business Bureau into their business practices. The lawsuit against My Education Solutions (MES) says that the company has violated several Texas laws for allegedly failing to make timely payments on customer's student loans, exaggerating savings claims on its advertising, and charging consumers unfair monthly fees.

CFPB makes it official, rescinds Cordray-era limits on payday lenders

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau completed a rule gutting limits on payday lenders, delivering long-anticipated regulatory relief to the small-dollar lending industry. The final rule released Tuesday rescinds underwriting requirements that had been imposed in a 2017 regulation under former CFPB Director Richard Cordray. Eliminating the “ability to repay” standards has long been a policy goal of the Trump administration.

The truth about medical bills sent to collections

If you think you’re immune to damage from a collection account on your credit report because you pay your bills on time, think again. Medical bills that you don’t know about could be hurting your credit—and the odds are not in your favor.

A 6-point security checkup for working from everywhere

No one has ever seen a year like 2020. These are unprecedented times for all of us — individuals, families, and organizations alike.  As we continue adapting to the changing conditions, it is important for organizations to review the actions they have taken in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and assess the effects of those actions on the organization’s cybersecurity posture.

Federal Appeals Court Blocks Lawsuit Over ‘Misleading’ Debt Collection Efforts

Two debtors are barred from suing a collection agency over allegedly "misleading" dunning letters because they were never actually deceived, a federal appeals court that covers three Southeastern states including Florida ruled in a split decision this week.

True Accord Report Consumer Debt in the Age of COVID-19

In this report, we will discuss how U.S. consumers are engaging with their debts during this crisis,  including how payments and other behaviors have changed. Then, we’ll explore the steps companies can take to better service consumers while also driving revenue during these uncertain times.

Attorney General Becerra Leads Multistate Lawsuit Against Secretary DeVos’ Attempt to Siphon Pandemic Relief Funds Away from Public Schools

SACRAMENTO – California Attorney General Xavier Becerra and Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel are today leading a coalition of six attorneys general in a lawsuit against U.S. Department of Education (Department) Secretary Betsy DeVos’ unlawful attempt to siphon pandemic relief funds away from K-12 public schools. The lawsuit follows the latest effort by Secretary DeVos to undermine congressional intent through the promulgation of regulations that unlawfully reinterpret the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) and run counter to efforts to ensure that students and schools with demonstrated financial need get the resources they have been promised.

CFPB Director Kraninger Announces Deputy Director; Additions to Executive Team

Washington, D.C. — Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Kathleen L. Kraninger today announced that Thomas Pahl will serve as the Deputy Director of the Bureau. Pahl has served as Policy Associate Director for Research, Markets, and Regulations since April 2018. Previously, Pahl was the Acting Director of the Bureau of Consumer Protection at the Federal Trade Commission.

Consumer bureau revokes payday lending restrictions

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) on Tuesday revoked rules that required lenders to ensure that potential customers could afford to pay the potentially staggering costs of short-term, high-interest payday loans.   The bureau released Tuesday the final revision to its 2017 rule on payday loans, formally gutting an initiative with roots in the Obama administration that was aimed at protecting vulnerable consumers from inescapable debt.

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Issues Final Rule on Small Dollar Lending

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau today issued a final rule concerning small dollar lending in order to maintain consumer access to credit and competition in the marketplace. The final rule rescinds the mandatory underwriting provisions of the 2017 rule after re-evaluating the legal and evidentiary bases for these provisions and finding them to be insufficient. The final rule does not rescind or alter the payments provisions of the 2017 rule.

Deep Dive: How The COVID-19 Pandemic Is Moving SMB Lending, Disbursements Away From Paper Checks

The small- to medium-sized business (SMB) lending industry is used to adaptation, especially since the 2008 financial crisis, when legacy financial institutions (FIs) began pulling back and FinTechs and digital players stepped up in the space. The COVID-19 pandemic has rocked the industry, too, revitalizing the ongoing shift to digital as well as prompting a resurgence in the role of more established banks as prime SMB lenders.

Supreme Court Prohibits Mobile Phone Robocalls To Collect Federal Debt

The Supreme Court ruled Monday that a 2015 law allowing federal debt collectors to make robocalls violates the Constitution. That's because those debt collectors were allowed to make automated calls while other groups weren't given the same treatment.

PPP loans roughly in line with industry payrolls, but some stand out

(Reuters) - Paycheck Protection Program loans to restaurants and hotels fell short of their share of small-business employment, according to details on the program released Monday by the U.S. Treasury Department and the Small Business Administration.

A Dark Day for Free Speech: Supreme Court Upholds Statute Supposedly Preventing Robocalls–But at what Cost?

In today’s Supreme Court decision of Barr v AAPC, however, the Supreme Court not only upheld the broadest restriction on Constitutionally-protected speech in our nation’s history, it did so in a manner that will help shut down future challenges to statutes that abridge speech–creating an entirely new First Amendment doctrine in the meantime. And that is a really big deal.

SMB Alt-Lending Gears Up For Another Industry Shakeup

The level of market volatility hitting the U.S. and other nations around the world as a result of the global pandemic continues to draw comparisons to the 2008 financial crisis — so it’s only natural that analysts may turn to the past in an effort to predict what could lie ahead.

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Files Suit Against Loan Doctor and Edgar Radjabli for Deceptive Acts and Practices in Marketing a Savings CD Account

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (Bureau) today filed a lawsuit against My Loan Doctor LLC, a Delaware financial-services company operating in West Palm Beach, Florida and New York City and doing business as Loan Doctor (Loan Doctor), and its founder, Edgar Radjabli. The Bureau alleges that Loan Doctor and Radjabli made several false, misleading, and inaccurate marketing representations in advertising Loan Doctor’s “Healthcare Finance (HCF) Savings CD Account,” in violation of the Consumer Financial Protection Act’s (CFPA) prohibition against deceptive acts or practices. As the Bureau’s complaint alleges, starting in August 2019, Loan Doctor took more than $15 million from at least 400 consumers who opened and deposited money into Loan Doctor’s deceptively advertised product.

CFPB Announces Consumer Financial Protection Week, Virtual Events Nationwide

WASHINGTON - Today, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (Bureau) announced the launch of Consumer Financial Protection Week, which will take place from July 14, 2020, through July 17, 2020. Consumer Financial Protection Week will focus on how the Bureau is protecting consumers in the financial marketplace, the issues consumers are confronting, as well as informing consumers of how they can communicate to the Bureau any issues that they may have with a financial services provider.

#HowTo Neutralize Wide-Area Network Cyber-Threats

Amid the many heartwarming stories to emerge during the COVID-19 pandemic about people, communities and businesses mobilizing to support one another and the public good, the global health crisis also has revealed a darker reality about the digitally-focused world we live in: that as soon as vulnerabilities are exposed, attempts to exploit them are sure to follow.

Supreme Court Upholds Cellphone Robocall Ban

WASHINGTON (AP) — THE Supreme Court on Monday upheld a 1991 law that bars robocalls to cellphones.The case, argued by telephone in May because of the coronavirus pandemic, only arose after Congress in 2015 created an exception in the law that allows the automated calls for collection of government debt.

Attorney General Becerra Secures $1.4 Million Judgment Against Southern California Telemarketers Scamming Vulnerable Investors

SACRAMENTO – California Attorney General Xavier Becerra today announced a more than $1.4 million judgment against Orange County, California based telemarketers who defrauded investors and timeshare owners of over $250,000. Property Protection Team, LLC (PPT) and four individuals, including owners Thomas S. White and Lacy Jae Treece, cheated more than 50 victims, many of them elderly, by collecting illegal advance fees for bogus “investment recovery” services.

HOW THE COVID-19 CRISIS IS IMPACTING BRANCH BANKING

The rise in popularity of online banking in the last several years had already precipitated a downward trend in branch banking and had forced financial institutions to start adjusting their networks. The disruption caused by the global COVID-19 crisis did not cause the trend but has certainly accelerated it.

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