Global Peer-to-peer Lending Industry

Amid the COVID-19 crisis, the global market for Peer-to-peer Lending estimated at US$120 Billion in the year 2020, is projected to reach a revised size of US$1.4 Trillion by 2027, growing at a CAGR of 42.7% over the analysis period 2020-2027. Consumer Credit, one of the segments analyzed in the report, is projected to record a 42.2% CAGR and reach US$218 Billion by the end of the analysis period. After an early analysis of the business implications of the pandemic and its induced economic crisis, growth in the Small Business segment is readjusted to a revised 44% CAGR for the next 7-year period.

AG Healey Secures Loan Discharges and Refunds for Students Misled by Online Education Company

BOSTON — Attorney General Maura Healey announced today that a Nevada-based debt buyer will discharge hundreds of thousands of dollars of loans made to Massachusetts students to finance expensive and ineffective online study materials and educational services.

U.S. weekly jobless claims rise for a second straight week, total 1.434 million

The number of Americans who filed new claims for unemployment benefits last week totaled 1.434 million, the Labor Department reported Thursday, roughly in line with expectations, as the coronavirus pandemic continues to ravage the U.S. economy. It was the 19th straight week in which initial claims totaled at least 1 million and the second consecutive week in which initial claims rose after declining for 15 straight weeks. Economists polled by Dow Jones had expected claims to rise to 1.45 million for the week ending July 25.

Is student loan debt really the barrier to Millennial homeownership?

On Wednesday, the Census Bureau reported a surprise increase in the homeownership rate, up from 65.3% to 67.9%. This increase challenges the long-standing thesis that college-educated Americans are too broke to own homes due to the financial burden of student loan debt. From the Census Bureau: “The homeownership rate of 67.9% was 3.8 percentage points higher than the rate in the second quarter 2019 (64.1%) and 2.6 percentage points higher than the rate in the first quarter 2020 (65.3%).” I should start by saying I don’t think this number will stick. Any massive deviation from a historical trend needs to be questioned and the question I am asking (tongue in cheek) is: Has COVID-19 somehow impacted the accounting data?

Record number of consumer financial protection complaints during pandemic

ASHINGTON, DC (NEXSTAR) — Americans have filed a record number of complaints to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau during the pandemic.  The thousands of reports include issues with deferred student loan and mortgage payments.

FTC Announces Staff Reports on Car Buying and Financing Experience, Results of Auto Buyers Study

Two new staff reports from the Federal Trade Commission highlight some of the challenges and confusion consumers can face in buying and financing a car, particularly relating to charges for add-on items after the initial price negotiation that can lead to them paying more than expected.

Rep. Waters Slams CFPB Chief For ‘Betraying Consumers’

The chairwoman of the House Committee on Financial Services unleashed a withering attack on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) on Thursday (July 30), accusing the agency of failing to protect consumers during the COVID-19 pandemic and accusing its director of committing “a betrayal of consumers.” U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA), according to an advance copy of remarks prepared for delivery at a hearing on the CPFB’s COVID-19 performance, said she “would like to welcome Director Kraninger to what I hope will be her last appearance before this Committee as CFPB director.”

Oral Testimony of Director Kraninger Before the House Financial Services Committee

Chairwoman Waters, Ranking Member McHenry, and Members of the Committee, thank you for this opportunity to provide you with an update on the CFPB’s important work. I appear before you as the country is engaged in a national conversation on racial inequality and confronting the unprecedented pandemic. Today, I would like to discuss both topics with you.

Banks Must Adopt APIs for Business Lending or the Fintechs Will Win

During the early PPP rollouts, fintech lenders using advanced technology saw client acquisitions soar. Many traditional institutions, where business lending remains largely manual, relied on 'sweat equity' and legacy tech to handle the challenge. The pandemic period may prove to be the make-or-break time for true digitization in banking.

GDP shrinks by record amount in second quarter amid virus lockdowns

The U.S. economy shrunk at a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 32.9 percent during the second quarter of 2020 as the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic spurred an economic collapse of record-breaking speed and size, the Commerce Department reported Thursday.

States’ lawsuit alleges OCC rule enables ‘rent-a-bank’ schemes

New York, California and Illinois sued the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency over a new rule making it easier for banks to sell loans to acquirers in states with interest rate caps, alleging the change will increase predatory lending.

Attorney General Becerra Challenges Rule by Comptroller of the Currency Green-lighting Predatory Lending Schemes

SACRAMENTO – California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, alongside Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul and New York Attorney General Letitia James, filed a lawsuit challenging the federal Office of the Comptroller of the Currency’s (OCC) recently announced final rule that exempts buyers of high-interest loans from state interest-rate caps. The OCC rule takes aim at state laws that protect consumers from predatory lenders. Under existing federal law, federally regulated banks are exempt from state interest-rate caps.

Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh Calls For Extension Of Executive Orders Preventing Evictions

BALTIMORE (WJZ) — Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh is asking Gov. Larry Hogan to extend several executive orders to help keep people in their homes amid the coronavirus  pandemic.  Among the protection orders they want to expand further are eviction, debt collection and utilities.

Colorado Updates State Debt Collection Law

Effective July 1, 2020, an update to the website for the Colorado Attorney General’s informational page about the Colorado Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (CFDCPA) must be included in the first written notice sent to consumers about a debt.

The Bureau is taking action to build a more inclusive financial system

In the midst of our country’s national conversation on how to put a stop to racial inequality and achieve fair treatment across our society, the agency I run—the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau—is playing a lead role in this conversation as it relates to fair treatment and equitable access to credit. As important as conversations are, actions matter more. Under my leadership, the CFPB is taking steps to help create real and sustainable changes in our financial system so that African Americans and other minorities have equal opportunities to build wealth and close the economic divide.

COVID-19 has disrupted cybersecurity, too – here’s how businesses can decrease their risk

The Fed is extending its lending programs until the end of the year

The Federal Reserve said Tuesday it is extending its menu of lending programs to businesses, governments and individuals to the end of 2020. Originally set to expire Sept. 30, the myriad facilities, stretching from credit to small businesses up to the purchase of junk bonds now will stretch to Dec. 31. The Fed began rolling out the initiatives as market functioning broke down in March. A lack of liquidity stemming from fears over the coronavirus crisis froze markets and pushed the Fed into various credit facilities, a number of which had their origins during the financial crisis.

TECH LOCK Fulfills Growing Demand for Comprehensive Managed Cybersecurity with Integrated Compliance

TECH LOCK Inc., a RevSpring Company, today announced its TECH LOCK Secure™ Managed Cybersecurity and Integrated Compliance Services, fulfilling a growing demand for customers struggling with the challenges of keeping pace with modern security threats. TECH LOCK Secure™ is comprised of a comprehensive suite of Managed Security and Compliance Services, including Endpoint Detection and Response, Network/Firewall, Log/SIEM and Vulnerability Management. The service is supported by a U.S. based 24x7x365 Security Operations Center (SOC) providing quick response to security events through the TECH LOCK Secure™ service portal, powered by a cloud-based machine learning engine enabling security event orchestration, detection and response.

Google Teams With CFPB on New Mortgage Search Feature

Google has added a new feature to its mobile search functions designed to help aspiring homebuyers and current homeowners secure more in-depth information on the mortgage process. The search engine giant, which first ventured into the mortgage realm in 2015 via the creation of an online mortgage calculator feature, has teamed with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on this search feature.

Attorney General’s COVID-19 Access to Justice Task Force Requests Governor Hogan Extend Executive Orders to Protect Marylanders from Threat of Eviction and Debt Collection

BALTIMORE, MD (July 28, 2020) - On behalf of the Attorney General’s COVID-19 Access to Justice Task Force, Maryland Attorney General Brian E. Frosh today sent a letter to Governor
Larry Hogan requesting the Governor extend and expand his Executive Orders on eviction, debt  collection,  and utilities. The Task Force requested the extension to provide Marylanders much needed protection as a result of COVID-19. Extension of the Executive Orders is critical because the conditions underlying Marylanders’ inability to pay rent and consumer debt remain largely unchanged.

CFPB Announces Plan to Issue ANPR on Consumer-Authorized Access to Financial Data

Washington, D.C. - The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (Bureau) today announced that it plans to issue an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPR) later this year on consumer-authorized access to financial records. The announcement follows a symposium the Bureau held earlier this year on the topic, which included experts from consumer groups, fintechs, trade associations, financial institutions and data aggregators. The Bureau is releasing a summary report of the symposium proceedings.

WRAPUP 1-U.S. new home sales shine in June; business activity picks up

WASHINGTON, July 24 (Reuters) - Sales of new U.S. single-family homes rose to a near 13-year high in June as the housing market outperforms the broader economy amid record low interest rates and migration from urban centers to lower-density areas because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In Final Court Summary, FTC Reports Volkswagen Repaid More Than $9.5 Billion To Car Buyers Who Were Deceived by “Clean Diesel” Ad Campaign

In a final summary filed in federal court today, the Federal Trade Commission reported that Volkswagen and Porsche repaid a total of more than $9.5 billion since 2016 to car buyers under the FTC’s orders stemming from the companies’ deceptive “clean diesel” advertising of VWs and Audis fitted with illegal emission defeat devices.

FTC Alleges California Purveyor of Background Reports Misled Consumers To Think its Reports on Individuals Might Contain Criminal and Other Records

The Department of Justice on behalf of the Federal Trade Commission sued a California-based purveyor of background reports, alleging that the company has deceived consumers with “teaser background reports” that often falsely claimed to include information about arrest, criminal, and sex offender records, and also engaged in misleading billing and marketing practices.

PPP forgiveness plan leaves bankers wanting

Paycheck Protection Program lenders should circle Aug. 10 on their calendars. It’s the date the Small Business Administration expects to launch its long-awaited portal through which lenders will seek approval of their PPP-loan forgiveness decisions, according to a procedural notice issued by the agency Thursday.

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Settles with Mortgage Companies to Address Deceptive Loan Advertisements Sent to Servicemembers and Veterans

Washington, D.C. - Today, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (Bureau) issued consent orders against Sovereign Lending Group, Inc. (Sovereign) and Prime Choice Funding, Inc. (Prime Choice). Sovereign is a California corporation that is licensed as a mortgage broker or lender in about 44 states and the District of Columbia. Prime Choice is a California corporation that is licensed as a mortgage broker or lender in about 35 states and the District of Columbia. Both companies offer and provide mortgage loans guaranteed by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

NCUCA 6th Annual Conference

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LendIt Fintech Europe 2020 – Virtual

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Auto Finance Summit 2020 – Virtual

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