Maryland Issues Six-Month Work-From-Home Regulation for Licensees

aryland has issued a temporary emergency regulation  allowing remote work for state-regulated entities, including collection agencies.  The regulation will be published in the Maryland Register Jan. 29 and will be valid for six months while the Maryland Commissioner of Financial Regulation works to enact a final rule on remote work arrangements.

Facing a double-whammy, millennials rack up credit card debt during the pandemic

The pandemic’s economic hit is making an outsize impact on one generation’s debt: A greater share of millennials report they have added to their credit card debt since March compared with older generations.

Crown Asset Management, LLC (CAM) Announces the Promotion of Five Team Members

Brian K. Williams, Chief Executive Officer, stated, “I am very proud of our leadership team which is rich in industry knowledge and experience.  Today I am pleased to announce the promotion of five of these team members in recognition of their hard work, dedication, and accomplishments”.   “2020 has been a challenging year the world over.  Our industry is no exception.  While we will continue to face challenges, CAM’s leadership team enables us to move past these challenges.  Today we announce the promotion of five members of this team.  These promotions recognize their qualifications and achievements and further build our foundation of strength and integrity.” said Scott Arnold, Chief Financial Officer.

Nearly 1/4 of U.S. adults have a personal loan—this is the No. 1 reason they borrow money

Personal loans were the fastest-growing debt category in 2019, but new data from Experian found that changed in 2020. While personal loans saw a 12% year-over-year increase in 2019, the category only grew 1% in 2020 (the slowest for any debt category last year) with fewer people taking out loans. Delinquencies also saw a dramatic decrease, with 27% fewer accounts past due 30 days or more. On average, personal loan balances sat at $16,458 in the third quarter of 2020.

51 million Americans increased their credit card debt because of Covid

In times of financial distress, credit cards are one of the easiest ways to access cash. During the coronavirus crisis, more than half, or 51%, of adults with credit card debt — roughly 51 million people — added to their balances, according to a report by CreditCards.com. And 44% blame the pandemic, the report found. In addition, Americans’ confidence in their ability to pay their card

Home price growth surges to highest level seen since 2014

U. S. Home price growth surged in the penultimate month of 2020 to a level not seen in nearly seven years.

FTC Acting Chair Rebecca Kelly Slaughter Announces Interim Leadership Appointments

Rebecca Kelly Slaughter, designated Acting Chair of the Federal Trade Commission by President Joseph R. Biden on January 21, today unveiled a number of interim leadership changes.  “I am enormously grateful to these talented members of the FTC team for being willing to offer their services as we work through this transition period,” said Acting Chair Slaughter.

Understanding the seasonal patterns of mortgage rates

Much like the changing of the calendar, buying and selling homes follows a seasonality that that those in mortgage and real estate have grown accustomed to. But a recent study from tech startup Haus found that mortgage rates can also be seasonal, and borrowers can benefit from understanding that rhythm. Analyzing over 8.5 million mortgage originations between 2012 and 2018 from Freddie Mac’s Single-Family Loan-Level dataset, Haus found that the sweet spot for rates is typically in January, when mortgage originations also typically slump.

Americans Hit by Just Under 46 Billion Robocalls in 2020, Says YouMail Robocall Index

IRVINE, Calif., Jan. 26, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- U.S. robocalls declined under the lockdowns of COVID-19, with an estimated 45.9 billion robocalls nationwide in 2020, marking an almost 22% decrease from the 58.5 billion robocalls recorded in 2019. This total is roughly 4% below the 47.8 billion robocalls received in 2018, yet still over 50% higher than the 30.5 billion robocalls in 2017.

Acting CFPB Director Uejio Plans for Active Role in Interim Posting

Acting Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) David Uejio does not intend to be a passive functionary as Biden administration nominee Rohit Chopra awaits Senate confirmation, telling staff in an email that he intends to begin focusing on the new administration’s priorities ahead of Chopra’s confirmation. This is according to an internal CFPB staff email obtained by Bloomberg Law.

Today’s mortgage rates mixed | January 25, 2021

Today’s mortgage refinance rates have risen since last Friday. Still, 15-year refinance rates are alone in their fluctuations, as 30-year and 20-year rates continue to stick around 2.625%. If you’re considering refinancing an existing home, check out what refinance rates look like:

Biden Signs Executive Order Delaying VA Debt Collections

President Joe Biden announced Friday that he was asking the Department of Veterans Affairs once again to delay collecting debts from veterans.

FTC Commissioner Rebecca Kelly Slaughter Designated Acting Chair of the Agency

President Joseph R. Biden designated Rebecca Kelly Slaughter as Acting Chair of the Federal Trade Commission. Slaughter has served as a Commissioner since May 2018.

Meet Biden’s new CFPB Acting Director Dave Uejio

After former Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Kathy Kraninger stepped down Wednesday at the request of President Joe Biden, Dave Uejio took over as the bureau’s acting director. Biden named Uejio acting director late Wednesday, moving him from his previous role as CFPB strategy program manager. In that role, he reported to the deputy director, led the 30-person Office of Strategy to define the bureau’s enterprise level strategy and policy priorities, identified and managed enterprise risks, evaluated impact of major programs and drove organizational performance.

TCPA Regulatory Update — Busy End of 2020, Early 2021 as FCC Continues Traced Act Implementation & Takes Other Actions on Robocalls and Spoofing

Ending 2020, the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC” or “Commission”) raced to implement several of the Congressionally imposed TRACED Act (“Act”) deadlines to combat illegal robocalls.

How open banking can transform the U.S. payments market

Europe's open banking movement has been a catalyst for fintech innovation, and it has come to the U.S. primarily through fintechs that operate on both continents. Now there's interest in the concept from more than a compliance standpoint.

Scam lenders are on the rise in the U.S. Here’s how to know if a lender is legitimate

If you didn’t already know, scam lenders and loans are on the rise, fueled by the economic fall-out of the Covid-19 crisis. Bad lenders have been around for a long time, however, and though the tactics they employ may evolve over time, with a keen eye and some common sense, you should still be able to spot them pretty easily. The proliferation in recent years of online lenders has also created a renewed emphasis on researching lenders’ online presence and any complaints. Here are some key red flags and how to spot them.

Existing home sales hit highest level since 2006

Home sales activity ticked up in the final month of 2020 and annual sales activity reached its highest levels since 2006.  Existing home sales increased 0.7% to 6.76 million in December from a month earlier and up 22.2% from the same time a year ago, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). The results beat analysts’ estimates compiled by Bloomberg of 6.56 million.

Q4 Earnings Reports Show Mobile Banking’s Surge

One common theme amid bank earnings — beyond lofty trading revenues gleaned from Wall Street — has been the increased uptake of mobile banking. Stats from banks, pretty much across the board, have given evidence that consumers have been pivoting to their mobile devices to attend to their everyday financial needs.

What are the new FHA loan limits for 2021?

There isn’t much the coronavirus hasn’t impacted in the real estate market – from loan rates to inventory. In response to the escalating home prices seen in 2020, the Federal Housing Administration is now offering higher loan limits on FHA loan products in the new year.

OSHA raises penalty maximums, establishes new debt collection procedures

The agency also announced that it is changing the way it collects citation penalties that have been levied against establishments, which OSHA defines as single, physical locations where business is conducted. Currently, all demands for payment after the first are issued at 30-day intervals. Moving forward, OSHA will send a series of three penalty payment after an establishment fails to make timely payment based on a final order — one at seven days, the second at 30 days and the next at 60 days. OSHA will also contact those that don't pay their fines on time by phone 14 days after the payment is due.

Biden directs Department of Education to extend student loan payment freeze

In one of his first actions as president, Joe Biden on Wednesday directed the Department of Education to extend the nearly year long pause on student loan payments through September 30, delivering on the new administration's campaign promise to prioritize and begin addressing the nearly $1.6 trillion debt crisis.

WRITTEN CONSENT REQUIRED FOR INFORMATIONAL CALLS?: How the FCC’s Recent TCPA Ruling May Have (Unintentionally?) Expanded PEWC Requirements

As we have reported, the FCC’s recent ruling implementing Section 8 of the TRACED Act was a really big deal–it limited the number of calls permitted under certain extremely-valuable and important exemptions related to prerecorded calls to landlines. 

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RMAI 2021 Annual Conference – In Person and Virtual

Receivables Management Association International (RMAi)

Collection and Recovery Solutions 2021 (CRS2021)

Resource Management Services, Inc.