The California DFPI issues proposed regulations to implement new Debt Collection Licensing Act

On April 23, 2021, the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (“DFPI”) issued proposed regulations to implement the Debt Collection Licensing Act (“DCLA”).

Debt collector licenses are required beginning on January 1, 2022 but a debt collector that applies for a license before that date can continue to operate while the application is pending.  In its Notice of Rulemaking Action, the DFPI states that it anticipates that final rules will become effective on or about November 19, 2021, thereby allowing debt collectors to apply for a license before January 1, 2022.

CFPB Gauges COVID-Related Borrower Challenges

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has issued two reports showing that more work needs to be done to help mortgage borrowers coping with the COVID-19 pandemic and economic downturn. The first report, “Characteristics of Mortgage Borrowers During the COVID-19 Pandemic,” documents that Black and Hispanic mortgage borrowers are much more likely to be delinquent or in a forbearance program than white borrowers. In a second report, the CFPB reports that overall mortgage complaints to the CFPB have risen to their highest level in three years.

Mortgage complaints hit three-year-high, CFPB says

In April, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau warned the industry of its plans to keep a much closer eye on servicers as they transition borrowers out of forbearance. On Tuesday, a report from the government watchdog may have just kicked up the incentive. According to the report, in March 2021, consumers submitted more mortgage complaints to the CFPB than in any month since April 2018. Within those complaints, mentions of forbearance and related terms reached their highest monthly average since March and April of 2020, while the number of borrowers who reported struggling to make payments also rose.

The Hunstein Effect – Examining the Eleventh Circuit’s Ruling and What’s Next for Debt Collectors and Their Third-Party Service Providers

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit has delivered a novel and highly consequential interpretation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act that is potentially transformative for debt collectors and their third-party service providers.

Biden’s education secretary isn’t ruling out an extension of the student-loan payment freeze

In one of his first actions in office, President Joe Biden extended the freeze on student-loan payments through September 30. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said on Monday that the department was looking at whether to resume payments and interest come October.

More than 178,000 troops may be eligible for this student loan debt forgiveness benefit, watchdog says

Although many military members and Defense Department civilian employees could benefit financially from a 14-year-old federal student loan debt forgiveness program, the benefit is underused and misunderstood, according to a new report from government auditor.

Student Debt-to-Income Ratios Lowest in California, Highest in Mississippi

Average college costs in 2020-2021 for full-time undergraduates range from $18,550 for in-district students at two-year public schools to $54,880 for students at four-year, private nonprofit schools, according to College Board.

CFPB Issues Reports Detailing Mortgage Borrowers’ Continuing COVID-19 Challenges

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) released two reports today showing that more work needs to be done to help mortgage borrowers coping with the COVID-19 pandemic and economic downturn. The first report documents that Black and Hispanic mortgage borrowers are much more likely to be delinquent or in a forbearance program than white borrowers. In a second report, the CFPB reports that overall mortgage complaints to the CFPB have risen to their highest level in three years.

1 in 4 Americans with debt are in collections, survey reveals

Rachel Cruze, Personal Finance Expert with Ramsey Solutions, joins the Yahoo Finance Live panel to discuss a new survey shedding light on the state of personal finance for Americans during COVID-19.

Federal Reserve official set to lead U.S. banking regulator: reports

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is reportedly set to name a Federal Reserve official to take over at the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency on an acting basis, according to reports from the Wall Street Journal and Politico. 

Stunning Decision from West Virginia: Common Carriers Can Be Liable for TCPA Violations on Their Network

Platforms, carriers and anyone else worried about TCPA liability should pay close attention to a recent decision out of West Virginia.  Daina Mey sued several common carriers–including CenturyLink and Level 3 Communications–for alleged violations of the TCPA.  The common carriers moved to dismiss, raising a slew of arguments against Ms. Mey’s complaint.  The Court rejected all of them and denied the common carriers’ motions. 

What Supreme Court’s FTC ruling means for LendingClub

One of the biggest winners from a recent Supreme Court decision involving the Federal Trade Commission is a Silicon Valley consumer lender that was not even a party to the lawsuit. LendingClub has been mired in a three-year legal fight with the FTC over allegedly deceptive business practices. But the San Francisco-based company now appears poised to reach a favorable settlement following a high court ruling that undermined the FTC’s authority to seek restitution.

Biden admin taps Rich Cordray, former CFPB chief, to oversee federal student loans

The Biden administration has tapped Richard Cordray, the former director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, to serve as the top official overseeing the federal government’s $1.6 trillion portfolio of student loans and array of financial aid programs.

FTC, CFPB Send Notice Letters to Landlords Regarding Pandemic Eviction Moratorium

The acting heads of the Federal Trade Commission and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) have sent joint notification letters to the nation’s largest apartment landlords, which collectively own more than 2 million units, reminding them of their obligations under the ongoing national eviction moratorium put in place as a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

FTC issues warning that using biased AI could violate consumer protection laws

The Federal Trade Commission issued a warning to businesses and health systems this week that the use of discriminatory algorithms could violate consumer protection laws. It could signal that the agency plans to take a hard look at bias in artificial intelligence technologies. "Hold yourself accountable—or be ready for the FTC to do it for you," Elisa Jillson, an attorney in FTC’s privacy and identity protection division, wrote in an official blog post.

Student Loan Debtors Seek High Court Standard in Debt Discharge

Consumer advocates are calling on the U.S. Supreme Court to provide a uniform, nationwide standard for what debtors must prove to eliminate student loan debt in bankruptcy.

Rhode Island Banking Division Announces Move to State Examination System

The Rhode Island Division of Banking will soon start using the State Examination System (SES)  to conduct supervisory activities such as examinations and commencement of administrative actions, share consumer complaints and other supervisory activities with licensees.

FTC announces refunds for victims of credit card scam, BBB warns of airfare scams

GREEN BAY, Wis. (WBAY) - This week, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that checks are in the mail for nearly 11,000 victims of a credit card interest rate reduction scheme. The FTC says the checks total more than $11 million, and are for victims of a scheme operated by E.M. Systems and Services, who used a variety of fake business names and websites to cold call people with credit card debt.

Debt collectors would be barred from taking COVID-19 stimulus money

Consumer groups are applauding a bill that is meant to keep debt collectors from garnishing the stimulus payments and other direct aid approved by the federal government to offset the financial strain created by the pandemic.

CFPB makes postponement of QM rule compliance official

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has made the postponement of the General Qualified Mortgage (QM) final rule official.

DFPI Announces Members of New Debt Collection Advisory Committee

SACRAMENTO – The California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) today announced the formal creation of its inaugural debt collection advisory committee, a seven-member board that will provide critical feedback to the Department as it stands up its debt collection licensing program. The diverse group includes a consumer advocate and representatives from the debt collection, debt-buying, third-party collection, and collection law industries.

United States: Reverse Mortgage Lender Settles CFPB Charges For Misleading Advertising

A reverse mortgage lender settled CFPB charges for sending advertisements to senior citizens that misrepresented the costs and risks associated with the lender's loans.

New York’s Highest Court Eliminates A Spurious Issue In Foreclosure Litigation

When a mortgage borrower stops paying its loan and the lender eventually decides to foreclose, the lender first needs to accelerate the loan. In other words, the lender needs to tell the borrower that the loan is in default and the borrower must repay it all now. If the borrower doesn’t do that, then eventually the lender goes ahead with foreclosure litigation and eventually, if all goes well for the lender, the borrower loses its real property. In New York that judicial proceeding can take at least one or two years, even if the borrower has no meritorious defenses. Sometimes a lender accelerates the loan and then doesn’t pursue foreclosure, instead sitting on its hands and doing nothing. If that continues for six years in New York, or other periods in other states, then the lender loses its right to foreclose. 

Smart Home Monitoring Company Vivint Will Pay $20 Million to Settle FTC Charges That It Misused Consumer Credit Reports

Smart home security and monitoring company Vivint Smart Homes Inc. has agreed to pay $20 million to settle Federal Trade Commission allegations that the Utah-based firm misused credit reports to help unqualified customers obtain financing for the company’s products and services.

Digital Lending Tools are Reducing Mortgage Timeframes

There has been a significant reduction mortgage processing times since the first of the year according to ICE Mortgage Technology. Its Origination Insight Report says that the time to close a purchase mortgage, which averaged 57 days in January declined to 53 days in February then to 51 days in March. Refinancing has seen similar improvement, falling from 59 days in January to 52 days in each of the subsequent months. The time to close for all loans was also 51 days, 6 fewer than in January.

Banks seek bigger role in point-of-sale lending

Fintechs' rush into the installment lending market creates a threat to the banks that got there first. But for the banks that sat on the sidelines, the best course forward might be to partner with a fintech rather than push back.

Making Ends Meet series: Changes in consumer financial status during the early months of the pandemic

Beginning in March 2020, the coronavirus pandemic sent the U.S. economy into one of the sharpest recessions in recent history. Millions were laid off, either temporarily or permanently, as restrictions went into effect to help reduce the spread of the virus. By June, the unemployment rate had risen to 11.1 percent, with almost 31 million people claiming unemployment insurance benefits.

Attorney General Rob Bonta Launches New Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Effort within the California Department of Justice

SACRAMENTO – California Attorney General Rob Bonta today announced the launch of a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Council within the California Department of Justice (DOJ). The new council will take steps to help ensure that DOJ’s work environment and hiring and retention policies can continue to be a model for elevating the voices of all Californians in the workforce.

CFPB Consumer Complaint Bulletin Examines County-Level Demographic Data

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued a bulletin today analyzing complaints submitted by consumers in counties nationwide. In 2019 and 2020, the CFPB received more complaints on a per-capita basis from consumers living in predominantly minority counties than from consumers in predominantly white, non-Hispanic counties.

FTC Sends More Than $11M in Refunds to Consumers Affected by Credit Card Interest Rate Reduction Scam

The Federal Trade Commission is sending full refunds totaling more than $11 million to consumers who lost money to a bogus credit card interest rate reduction scheme operated by E.M. Systems & Services.

The U.S. has already cancelled roughly $100 billion in student debt amid the pandemic

Actions taken by the federal government will lead to roughly $100 billion in total student loan forgiveness between March 2020 and September 2021, according to Education Department (ED) data and analysis from experts.

Second round of PPP loan application deadline has been pushed back to May

REDDING, Calif. — Lawmakers have approved a state tax break of almost $7-billion as a part of the COVID-19 economic recovery for small businesses and there's still time to apply.

This Texas bill would cancel student lunch debt

AUSTIN (KXAN) — A newly filed bill in the Texas State House would ban debt accrued from school lunches for students in Texas. On Wednesday, Texas state Rep. James Talarico (D-Round Rock), filed House Bill 4112, which would allow students to receive regular lunches despite what their meal card balance may be.

Crypto Bank Gets OCC Approval, ABA Objects

New York fintech Paxos National Trust is the latest non-traditional bank to be conditionally approved for a banking charter by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC).

Lawmakers clash over OCC rule validating loan sales to nonbanks

WASHINGTON — Democratic senators made clear their hopes of blocking a rule that makes it easier for national banks to sell loans to third parties, but invalidating the measure in the tightly divided Senate could be an uphill battle.

The Number of Fintech Consumer Complaints Filed to the CFPB Exploded in the Beginning of 2021

When COVID-19 hit the United States, Americans moved much of their lives online, including, in some cases, their finances. As the prevalence of financial technology rose during the pandemic, so too did the volume of consumers complaining about it.

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