CFPB Takes Action Against Debt Collector for Failing to Investigate Reports of Identity Theft and Misrepresenting Consumers’ Debts

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) yesterday filed a proposed settlement to resolve a lawsuit against a debt collection enterprise and its owner. The CFPB alleges that Fair Collections & Outsourcing (FCO) violated federal law by failing to establish or implement reasonable written policies and procedures regarding the accuracy and integrity of the information it furnished to credit reporting agencies and failed to conduct reasonable investigations of indirect consumer disputes, resulting in inaccurate information remaining on consumers’ credit reports. The CFPB also alleges that FCO and its owner, Michael Sobota, violated federal law when FCO represented that consumers owed certain debts when, in fact, FCO did not have a reasonable basis to assert that the consumers owed those debts. If entered by the court, the settlement would require FCO and Sobota to put in place reasonable policies and procedures to prevent future violations and pay a $850,000 civil money penalty.

Home loan sizes remain near record highs

he latest statistics show people in the housing market have decided to go big in order to go home. The size of loans that people are seeking is near record highs. Overall, demand for mortgage applications declined 3.9% from the prior week as mortgage rates increased, according to the latest survey from the Mortgage Banker's Association. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index decreased 1% from one week earlier. "Despite a second-straight weekly decrease, average loan sizes remain close to record high," said Joel Kan, MBA’s associate vice president of economic and industry forecasting.

CFPB: Older Mortgage Borrowers Struggle Making Payments in COVID-19 Era

The COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic has negatively affected American seniors both in terms of the more dangerous health effects of the illness itself, as well as the ability of older, traditional mortgage borrowers to make their payments on time. As a result of the pandemic, many older homeowners are at greater risk of losing homes to foreclosure, according to new data released this week by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).

Student debt is so inescapable that even those who made payments during the pandemic freeze still owe more money than they originally borrowed

President Joe Biden recently extended the freeze on student-loan payments that was set to expire in September to give borrowers an additional four months of pandemic relief. But for those who used the freeze to pay off their debt, many of them couldn't even make a dent in the amount they initially borrowed.

HUD and FHFA raise the focus on fair lending

In an interesting announcement last week, HUD and FHFA issued a joint MOU (memorandum of understanding) that enhances efforts to synchronize fair lending policy, enforcement and investigatory activities. This is a rare instance where HUD and the regulator of the GSEs have publicly agreed to attempt to synchronize efforts on such a major policy effort.

Ten Years After Dodd-Frank Passage CFPB To Issue Section 1071 Regulations in September

The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California recently issued an order setting September 30 as the deadline for the CFPB to issue a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) on small business lending data based on Section 1071 of the Dodd-Frank Act.  Section 1071 amended the Equal Credit Opportunity Act to require financial institutions to collect, maintain, and report to the CFPB data on credit applications made by women-owned, minority-owned, and small businesses.  Such data includes the race, sex, and ethnicity of the principal owners of the business, and would be used to facilitate enforcement of fair lending laws and to help better identify the business and community development needs of these types of entities.  The order follows a complaint that was filed in 2019 alleging the wrongful delay by the CFPB in adopting regulations to implement Section 1071.  The deadline comes as a result of a stipulated settlement agreement reached in 2020, which established a timetable for the CFPB to engage in Section 1071 rulemaking.

The 10 U.S. states with the most credit card debt

Americans started 2021 with nearly $900 billion in credit card debt. And that amount is projected to increase by $60 billion by the end of the year, according to WalletHub, a personal finance website. To determine the states with the highest and lowest amounts of credit card debt, WalletHub looked at average credit card balances and payments made since September 2020, using data from credit reporting agency TransUnion, the Federal Reserve and the U.S. Census Bureau.

CFPB Report on Servicers’ COVID-19 Response Signals Enforcement Priorities

On August 10, 2021, the CFPB’s Office of Supervision Policy published a report titled Mortgage Servicing COVID-19 Pandemic Response Metrics: Observations from Data Reported by Sixteen Servicers (“Servicing Metrics Report”).

Pamela Murphy Earns Fred Kirschner Instruction Achievement Award

Rochester, N.Y. – Continental Service Group, Inc., d.b.a. ConServe is proud to announce that Pam Murphy, Vice President of Compliance & Privacy Officer was recognized and received the Fred Kirschner Instruction Achievement Award for conducting 75 seminars at the 2021 ACA International Annual Convention held in Las Vegas, NV on July 30, 2021.

Here’s the average student loan debt of borrowers ages 62 and older

It’s probably no surprise that the oldest cohort of student loan borrowers — those ages 62 and older — are also the smallest group. Still, the roughly 2.3 million borrowers in this age group carry a substantial amount of student loan debt. According to statistics from the U.S. Department of Education’s Q4 2020 data, borrowers in this age group have an average balance of $37,739.13. This is higher than what 25- to 34-year-olds fresh out of college carry ($33,817.56).

Today’s Mortgage Rates — August 16, 2021: Rates Up for 2 Popular Loan Options

Average mortgage rates are up for some loans and down for others today. If you are thinking about buying a home, it's a good idea to monitor how rates are trending so you can decide if it's a good time to apply for a mortgage loan.

California Regulator Signals New Scrutiny of Student Lending Industry, Enters Into Consent Order with Servicer of Income Share Agreements

On August 5, California’s Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) announced that it entered into a consent order with a New York-based FinTech company that offers student Income Share Agreements (ISAs) to finance post-secondary education and training.

AG Healey Secures $1.6 Million From Online Loan Servicer Over Abusive Debt Collection Practices

BOSTON — Online loan servicer Avant will pay $1.6 million in a settlement with Attorney General Maura Healey’s Office over allegations that the company used abusive debt collection practices against consumers.

Credit card limits are rising for most groups after stagnating during the pandemic

This post is the fourth in a series documenting trends in consumer credit outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic. Last August, we published a report on early trends in consumer credit outcomes through June 2020, which found largely positive trends in those outcomes despite widespread economic hardship due to the pandemic.

Maine amends Consumer Credit Code to target loans made using bank partnership model

Maine has amended its Consumer Credit Code to target loans made using a bank partnership model.  The amendments include an anti-evasion provision under which a purported agent or service provider is deemed a “lender” subject to Title 9-A, Article 2 of Maine Revised Statutes.  Article 2 contains a licensing requirement and rate and fee limits for consumer loans.

CFPB Confirms November 30 Effective Date for Debt Collection Final Rules

The CFPB recently announced that its two final debt collection rules implementing the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) will take effect as planned on November 30.

Carr: $19.8M Settlement reached with Turtle Creek Assets, Ltd.

ATLANTA, GA – Attorney General Chris Carr today announced a $19.8 million settlement with Turtle Creek Assets, Ltd. and its owner, Gordon Engle, (collectively “Turtle Creek”), resolving allegations that the company committed multiple violations of the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and the Georgia Fair Business Practices Act. 

FFIEC Issues Guidance on Authentication and Access to Financial Institution Services and Systems

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC), on behalf of its members, today issued guidance that provides financial institutions with examples of effective authentication and access risk management principles and practices for customers, employees, and third parties accessing digital banking services and information systems.

Student loans: Bipartisan bankruptcy reform bill proposes alternative to forgiveness hope or lifelong debt

While some progressive Democrats continue to push the president to cancel student loan debt, there's a bipartisan effort underway to overhaul the student loan system in another way: by making bankruptcy discharges more accessible for student debtors.

FTC Urges Federal Reserve Board to Require Debit Card Gatekeepers to Compete Fairly

The Federal Trade Commission announced that staff have submitted a comment urging the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (the Fed) to clarify and strengthen the implementation of debit card fee and routing reforms to the Electronic Fund Transfer Act (EFTA) made under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act of 2010 (Dodd-Frank).

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