Americans lever up on credit card, mortgage debt ahead of higher interest rates

Americans piled on more mortgage and credit card debt in the last quarter of 2021, according to new survey data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Total household debt increased by $333 billion to $15.58 trillion in the final three months of last year. Over the entirety of 2021, household debt grew by $1 trillion — the largest increase seen since 2007.

Household debt jumped by $1 trillion in 2021, the most since 2007

(CNN)A big year for car and home shopping helped push Americans to take on a lot more debt last year. Household debt increased by $1 trillion in 2021, the biggest annual increase since 2007, according to data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. In the fourth quarter alone, household debt grew by $333 billion to $15.58 trillion, the largest quarterly rate of increase since 2007 as well.

Millions could get a leg up financially if credit scores included alternative data

An estimated 50 million Americans could have more financial opportunities if their credit histories and scores incorporated alternative data, such as rental payments, utilities, and trended data, according to a new study.

Pennsylvania Letter-Vendor Case Will Continue Despite Request for Stay

A Fair Debt Collection Practices Act case similar to Hunstein v. Preferred Management Collection & Management Services will continue in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania after a judge denied the defendant’s request to stay the filing pending the outcome of the Hunstein case, which is scheduled for oral argument Feb. 22.

CFPB Encourages Consumers To “Hold Accountable” Consumer Reporting Companies By Filing Disputes and FCRA Lawsuits

On January 27, 2022, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) published its updated annual list of consumer reporting companies for the purpose of encouraging consumers to seek access to their files, and sue if they believe there is a Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) violation. 

Carr Announces Settlement with Rent-A-Center

ATLANTA, GA – Attorney General Chris Carr today announced that his office has entered into a settlement with Rent-A-Center. The settlement resolves allegations that the company engaged in deceptive sales and marketing tactics and violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act in the course of its rent-to-own sales of furniture, electronics and appliances. 

Ninth Circuit Approves California’s Net Neutrality Law, Shifts Focus to FCC

The Situation: California enacted a net neutrality law in response to the Federal Communications Commission's ("FCC") 2018 decision to reclassify broadband internet access service and repeal the FCC's 2015 net neutrality rules.

Santander to begin laying off mortgage employees

Pink slips will start arriving for Santander Bank’s employees working in the mortgage and home equity businesses following the bank’s announcement to stop originating such loans in the United States.

Oklahoma bill introduced to limit use of automated dialing systems

A bill was recently introduced in the Oklahoma legislature that would impose new limits on the use of automated dialing systems.  If enacted, the bill would become effective November 1, 2022.

BROWN, COLLEAGUES SEEK ANSWERS ON REPORTS OF JPMORGAN ROBO-SIGNING

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Chair of the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, along with Committee members Sens. Menendez (D-NJ), Smith (D-MN), Warren (D-MA), Van Hollen (D-MD), and Warnock (D-GA), sent a letter to JPMorgan Chase seeking to better understand the company’s credit card collection practices, including reports that JPMorgan has resumed the practice of robo-signing to sue customers.

New VA rule relieves financial distress for thousands of veterans with medical bills

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) took a major step  towards protecting veterans and their families by announcing a change to when it will report information on outstanding medical bills to consumer reporting companies. Under the VA’s new rule, the agency will only report a medical bill after all other collection efforts have been exhausted, largely eliminating coercive credit reporting as a debt collection technique. Coupled with the other announced changes by the VA, which provide additional protections to the most financially vulnerable veterans, these changes will result in a 99% reduction of unfavorable debt that it reports to consumer reporting companies.

What’s a “junk payment?” CFPB’s inquiry sparks trade backlash

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Director Rohit Chopra raised hackles by releasing a broad query recently into so-called “junk fees” charged on ordinary monetary items such as loans, home mortgages and charge card.

Consumer advocates urge FDIC to stamp out high-interest loans

A coalition of 15 consumer groups wrote a letter Friday to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC), pressing the agency to crack down on partnerships between fintechs and banks that allow excessive interest rates.

This student loan forgiveness plan can lead to a ‘huge tax bomb’ and accrue thousands in interest

Student loan forgiveness through income-driven repayment sounds like the best of all worlds: a monthly payment sized to match your paycheck that disappears -- along with any remaining balance -- after a set number of years.

New Updates to College Scorecard Make Tool More Useful for Students and Families With Data About College Costs, Graduation Rates, and Post-College Earnings

Today, the U.S. Department of Education released updates to the College Scorecard that make the tool more useful for students and families weighing college options.  The tool also includes new and updated information that may be beneficial to school counselors, college access providers, researchers, and other critical stakeholders.

Appraisal discrimination is illegal under federal law

Home ownership is one of the best paths for building intergenerational wealth. But for some homebuyers and owners, a home’s valuation may be skewed by one’s skin color or the demographics of the surrounding community. A biased home appraisal can worsen racial inequities and distort the housing market. That’s why, for more than 50 years, federal law has forbidden racial, religious, and other discrimination in home appraisals. But we still see reports of appraisers who don’t follow the law and base their value judgments on biased, unfounded assumptions about borrowers and the neighborhoods in which they live.

Request for Information Regarding Fees Imposed by Providers of Consumer Financial Products or Services

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (Bureau or CFPB) is seeking comments from the public related to fees that are not subject to competitive processes that ensure fair pricing. The submissions to this request for information will serve to assist the CFPB and policymakers in exercising its enforcement, supervision, regulatory, and other authorities to create fairer, more transparent, and competitive consumer financial markets.

Fourth Circuit rules mortgage servicer violated Maryland Consumer Debt Collection Act by charging convenience fees for phone or online payments

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit recently ruled that a mortgage servicer violated the Maryland Consumer Debt Collection Act (MCDCA) by charging a $5 convenience fee to borrowers for monthly payments made by phone or online.

There have never been more ways to build a credit score. Here’s what to know

In recent years, many financial services companies have come out with programs to establish and build credit for those who have struggled to access the traditional banking system. There are even ways that people can build credit without having to take on debt.

Bankruptcy filings continue to decline despite skyrocketing credit balances

Bankruptcy filings declined when the coronavirus pandemic began in March 2020 as revolving credit balances sharply dwindled. Although revolving credit balances have abruptly risen in 2021, bankruptcy filings have continued to steadily fall.

U.S. banks see business lending driving 2022 growth

NEW YORK, Feb 3 (Reuters) - Demand for business loans is picking up in the United States as an economic recovery drives consumer spending and encourages companies to bulk up inventories, fueling optimism it will boost banks' 2022 growth.

Consumer Fees Find Themselves in the Crosshairs: The CFPB Seeks Public Input on Alleged “Junk Fees” in the Consumer Financial Services Industry

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) has continued to ratchet up its regulatory scrutiny over the consumer financial services market.  On January 26, 2022, the CFPB published an initiative seeking public input on so-called “junk fees” in consumer financial services.  According to the CFPB, “junk fees” occur where: (i) fees are charged for things consumers believed were covered by the baseline price of a product or service; (ii) fees are unexpected; (iii) the expense of the fee is greatly disproportionate to the cost of the service; or (iv) it is unclear why a fee was charged.  The CFPB contends that “junk fees” are detrimental to the market for financial services because they “obscure the true price” of a service by, for example, offering attractive introductory pricing, but then make up the difference by levying various back-end fees on consumers.

U.S. Debt Collections Industry Worth $15 Billion. Moderate Growth

Feb. 2, 2022…   Marketdata LLC a leading independent market research publisher of “off-the-shelf” studies about service industries since 1979, has released a new 145-page report entitled:  U.S. Debt Collection Agencies: An Industry Analysis . This  9^th edition best-selling study contains the latest survey highlights, facts, and forecasts from the: U.S. Census Bureau, FTC, Federal Reserve, IRS, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and more. 

CFPB Issues Bulletin to Restrain Collection and Credit Reporting of Prohibited Medical Debt

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has released a compliance bulletin and policy guidance reminding debt collectors that attempting to collect on or furnishing information to consumer reporting agencies regarding medical debt that is prohibited under the recently passed No Surprises Act may violate the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) and Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA).

Marlette Promotes Rhodes to Chief Operating Officer

WILMINGTON, DE. (Feb. 02, 2022) – Marlette Holdings, Inc, the owner and operator of Best Egg, the AI-powered online financial platform, is pleased to share that it has promoted Alex Rhodes to Chief Operating Officer. This move follows the transition of former COO Jason Swift, who now serves as Marlette’s President of Credit Card Services. Marlette’s Best Egg platform offers consumers fixed rate personal loans, the Best Egg Visa® credit card, and Best Egg Financial Health, a free set of resources to help people improve their finances.

Recent Vintage Loans Perform Well Even as More Non-Prime Consumers Secured Credit in Second Half of 2021

With consumer credit performance maintaining healthy levels across auto, credit card, personal loans and mortgages, lenders continued to ramp up new account origination growth in the non-prime segment of the market near the end of 2021. TransUnion’s (NYSE: TRU) newly released Q4 2021 Quarterly Credit Industry Insights Report (CIIR) also found that loans to non-prime borrowers increased while accounts originated during the pandemic in 2020 continued to perform as well or better when compared to loans from previous years.

U.S. Has More Credit Cards Than Ever as Issuance Surged in 2021

A record 196 million Americans held cards at the end of 2021, according to a report by credit-data agency TransUnion. In the third quarter, the latest for which detailed numbers are available, the number of new cards issued hit an all-time high of 20.1 million, it said. Some 9 million of them went to so-called non-prime borrowers -- those with poor or fair credit.

Do People Always Have the Right to Withdraw Consent?

Modern privacy laws contain different definitions for the term “consent,” and different standards for when consent will, and will not, be effective.

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