Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Settles with Student Loan Servicers Discover Bank, The Student Loan Corporation, and Discover Products, Inc. for Violating a Bureau Consent Order and Other Unlawful Practices
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (Bureau) issued a consent order against Discover Bank, The Student Loan Corporation, and Discover Products, Inc. (collectively, Discover) based on the Bureau’s findings that Discover violated a prior Bureau order, the Electronic Fund Transfer Act (EFTA), and the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 (CFPA).
Government Contractors Are People Too: FCC Revises TCPA Definition of “Person”
On December 14, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) ruled that federal and state contractors are “persons” subject to the terms of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). Citing privacy concerns, the order overturns 2016 FCC precedent, exempting government contractors from the TCPA’s restrictions. Now, government contractors must obtain permission from consumers before calling or texting them.
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Settles with Santander Consumer USA Inc. for Credit Reporting Violations in Connection with Its Auto Loans
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (Bureau) issued a consent order against Santander Consumer USA Inc. (Santander) to address the Bureau’s finding that it violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). The consent order was issued in connection with Santander providing erroneous consumer loan data to consumer reporting agencies (CRAs). Santander, a subsidiary of Banco Santander S.A., is a leading originator and servicer of nonprime auto loans and leases. Santander furnishes credit information on the auto loans it services by sending monthly data files to CRAs.
CFPB dings Discover, Santander in year-end enforcement actions
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued a pair of enforcement actions Tuesday: one orderingDiscover to pay $35 millionover issues with its student loan servicing program, and a second requiring Santander's U.S. consumer lending arm topay $4.75 millionfor knowingly giving inaccurate consumer credit data to credit reporting agencies.
U.S. lenders score small business relief, accounting help in pandemic package
WASHINGTON, Dec 22 (Reuters) - The long-awaited $900 billion U.S. pandemic aid package will help banks by boosting borrowers’ finances and easing a key small-business lending program’s rules, lobbyists and analysts said.
CBE Companies Announces Plans to Bring 500 Jobs to Clarksville
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa, Dec. 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- CBE Companies (CBE) has finalized plans to open its fourth operational center world-wide, to be located in Clarksville, Tennessee. This expansion accommodates large-scale growth plans, both immediate and in the near future. Through 2023, CBE plans to employ a total of 500 people in Clarksville.
U.S. student debt has increased by more than 100% over the past 10 years
And as college students across the countrypivoted between on-campus and remote learning, 2020 was also the year the United States surpassed owing over $1.7 trillion in student debt for the first time.
U.S. lenders score small business relief, accounting help in pandemic package
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The long-awaited $900 billion U.S. pandemic aid package will help banks by boosting borrowers’ finances and easing a key small-business lending program’s rules, lobbyists and analysts said.
Wells Fargo set to be freed from AML consent order
Wells Fargo is on the verge of being freed from a 2015 enforcement action tied to violations of its controls for combating money laundering. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency recently informed Wells that it’s been found to have satisfied the requirements of the five-year-old consent order, according to two sources close to the situation. Notifying the bank is a procedural step that precedes the formal termination of a regulatory order.
US Student Debt Just Hit a Mind-Bending Milestone—So We Made This Animation
But don’t blink: That number is ballooning even as you read this sentence.Since the Great Recessiontook hold in 2008, student debt has been among thefastest-growing typesof debt for everyday Americans. It’s growing faster than mortgages, auto loans, and credit card debt.
Data and AI will Drive Autonomous Finance Future in Banking
While many financial institutions are working to use data and analytics to provide recommendations or advice to customers, the future of banking will automate financial tasks on behalf of consumers, optimizing financial value.
FDIC, OCC proposal would give banks 36 hours to report cyberattacks
A proposal Tuesday from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) would require banks to notify their primary federal regulator within 36 hours of making a good-faith determination that a cybersecurity incident could materially disrupt, impair or degrade their operations, or threaten U.S. financial stability.
OCC Proposes to Allow Exemptions from SAR Requirements
To help banks develop more efficient and effective Bank Secrecy Act compliance programs, the OCC hasissued a proposalthat would allow the agency to issue exemptions from Suspicious Activity Report requirements. Allowing the OCC to grant exemptions where it deems appropriate will help reduce regulatory burden on banks while encouraging innovation in BSA/AML compliance, the agency said. Comments on the proposal are due 30 days after publication in the Federal Register.
Washington, D.C. (KMVT/KSVT) —The Senate unanimously passed U.S. Senators Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minnesota)’s legislation to help stop unwanted robocalls Friday. Crapo and KlobucharintroducedS. 2204, the Data Analytics Robocall Technology (DART) Act on July 23, 2019. TheDART Actwould require the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to report to Congress on the effectiveness of call blocking programs.
CFPB Welcomes Deputy Chief of Staff & Assistant Director for Office of Innovation
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced the addition of a Deputy Chief of Staff and an Assistant Director for the Office of Innovation. The two executives are:
TCPA NIGHTMARE: Court Grants $122k Summary Judgment Against Debt Collector for Using Noble Predictive Dialer to Contact Revoking Debtor– CEO Must Face Jury on Personal Liability
Consider the recent NIGHTMARE decision in Ramsey v. Receivables Performance Mgmt., LLC, Case No. 1:16-cv-1059, 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 236094 (S.D. Oh. December 15, 2020). There a debt collector lost the case on summary judgment when it assumed (that was the testimony) it had consent anytime a creditor sent a file to it to work.
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Issues Final Rule on Consumer Disclosures Related to Debt Collection
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (Bureau) issued today a final rule to implement Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) requirements regarding certain disclosures for consumers. The rule requires debt collectors to provide, at the outset of collection communications, detailed disclosures about the consumer’s debt and rights in debt collection, along with information to help consumers respond.
U.S. banking regulators propose requiring banks to immediately flag computer breaches
WASHINGTON, Dec 18 (Reuters) - U.S. banks would have no longer than 36 hours after finding a cybersecurity breach to flag the issue to their regulators, under a new rule proposed Friday. The proposal from U.S. banking regulators would direct banks to notify their primary regulator as soon as possible after a breach is discovered that could impair services or the organization itself. In addition, the rule would direct third-party service providers to promptly tell client banks of any breaches that would impair their services. (Reporting by Pete Schroeder Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
The Fed just pretty much guaranteed that mortgage rates will stay low
With coronavirus infections spiking across the country, Chairman Jerome Powell and his colleagues at the Federal Reserve have announced they're keeping a key interest rate near zero — which promises to help mortgage rates stay at record lows.
Weekly jobless claims unexpectedly rise, hit highest level since early September
Jobless claims unexpectedly rose last week as states reimposed coronavirus restrictions as lawmakers struggle to push through new government aid, according to a Labor Department report Thursday. The number of first-time unemployment-benefits filers totaled 885,000 in the week ending Dec. 12, the most since the week of Sept. 5. Economists polled by Dow Jones expected initial claims to fall to 808,000.
Refinance demand jumps 105% annually, as mortgage rates set 15th record low of 2020
Mortgage rates set yet another record low last week — the 15th this year and the second record in as many weeks. The drop, however, did not spark any significant change in weekly mortgage applications, but demand is substantially stronger than it was a year ago. Total mortgage application volume increased 1.1% week-to-week according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s seasonally adjusted index. The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgage
Attorneys Explain the CFPB’s Final Rule on Debt Collection
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) in October, announced the final rule to restate and clarify prohibitions on harassment and abuse, false or misleading representations, and unfair practice by debt collectors when collecting consumer debt. But what, exactly, does it all mean?
The Nevada Financial Institutions Division (NFID) has granted another extension allowing employees of licensed collection agencies to work from home, following data security and other guidance, through March 31, 2021.
Agencies release annual CRA asset-size threshold adjustments for small and intermediate small institutions
WASHINGTON—The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation today announced the annual adjustment to the asset-size thresholds used to define small bank and intermediate small bank under the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) regulations.