CFPB Director Addresses the Final Report of the Interagency Task Force on Property Appraisal and Valuation Equity

The current leadership of the CFPB has not been shy about highlighting the importance of fair lending—and it is becoming increasingly clear that fair lending and equity within the financial services industry is one of the CFPB’s greatest priorities under Director Rohit Chopra. Just last month, the CFPB released a blog post to discuss possible discrimination in the appraisal process.

CREDIT UNIONS – Study: Only 14% of Young Consumers Favor Credit Unions

When it comes to the bank versus credit union (CU) debate, it’s clear where the loyalty of younger consumers lies. A PYMNTS survey found younger consumers show a stronger preference for national banks than for CUs.

CFPB Extends Opportunity for Public to Provide Input on Junk Fees

We have received a tremendous amount of feedback from our Request for Information on exploitive junk fees. The more than 25,000 comments we have received through mid-March show the high-level of public interest on this topic, and the number of people affected by exploitative junk fees. We are extending the deadline for the public to share input and stories on their experiences with exploitative junk fees through April 11, 2022.

Robocall Facilitators Must Cease and Desist

The FCC Enforcement Bureau issued warnings to voice service providers that have apparently transmitted illegal robocalls on their networks. Recipients have 48 hours to stop facilitating this traffic or face all their traffic being blocked by other providers. The FCC has carefully constructed the tools necessary to take swift and impactful action against bad actors – this means not only possible fines when violations occur, but also business consequences for those removed from the Robocall Mitigation Database. To date, all recipients have quickly responded and committed to take actions to stop the flow of robocalls on their networks. That said, the FCC and its partners remain vigilant in monitoring these – and all – providers’ efforts to ensure unyielding compliance with consumer protection requirements going forward.

Black Knight: February Uptick in Early-Stage Delinquencies Drives First Increase in Past- Due Mortgages in Nine Months; Foreclosure Starts Fall 24% Following January Spike

Though past-due loans edged higher (+1.8%) in February, the national delinquency rate remains near pre-pandemic levels heading into March, which typically sees strong seasonal performance improvements.

11 House members send 7 questions to CFPB about vehicle repossessions

The American Financial Services Association highlighted that 11 members of the U.S. House sent a letter to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau containing seven questions triggered by the regulator saying it is “moving to thwart illegal repossessions in the heated auto market.”

Emergency Savings and Financial Security: Insights from the Making Ends Meet Survey and Consumer Credit Panel

This report examines how consumers’ financial profiles vary by levels of emergency savings. We use a new version of the Making Ends Meet survey and pair it with credit bureau data from our Consumer Credit Panel to provide a unique picture of consumers' financial profiles not available through research outside the CFPB. These rich data reveal much about the current state of consumer finances in the wake of an especially turbulent period, triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic, in which Americans from all walks of life experienced unexpected changes, emergencies, dips in income, and expense shocks.

CFPB issues guidance regarding illegal consumer review practices

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) said it has issued policy guidance to address potentially illegal practices related to consumer reviews.

California DFPI Affirms Employer-Integrated Earned Wage Access Is Not a Loan

In February 2022, a legal opinion issued by the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (“DFPI”) concluded that employer-provided earned wage access (“EWA”) transactions are not loans under the California Financing Law and California Deferred Deposit Transaction Law. 

Mortgage loan modifications rose 40% in 4Q: OCC

Serious delinquencies improved in the fourth quarter of 2021 but modifications and foreclosure starts rose as borrowers exited forbearance in droves, according to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.

CFPB’s overdraft fee research refuted by CBA president: ‘Not backed by reality’

The president of the Consumer Bankers Association (CBA) accused the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) of making "unsubstantiated claims" about overdraft fees after the federal agency released research on how much banks have relied on such charges over the last six years.

Return of student loan payments could spell trouble for borrowers

Tens of millions of Americans haven’t had to make payments on their student loans the last two years — and a new study suggests many could struggle when bills come due again. Why it matters: Payments are scheduled to resume May 1 on federal direct student loans. President Biden is weighing whether to extend the moratorium on payments again, while lawmakers debate the possibility of cancelling some student debts altogether. Driving the news: Nearly 37 million borrowers have saved about $195 billion from the moratorium through April 2022, according to a report released Tuesday by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

TCPA Regulatory Update — FCC Announces New State-Federal Partnerships to Combat Robocalls

In February, Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel announced the addition of Colorado, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Vermont to the Commission’s list of robocalling investigatory partners, bringing the total number of states to 16. In addition, she announced the execution of two Memoranda of Understanding (“MOUs”) between the state attorneys general of Colorado and Vermont and the Commission’s Enforcement Bureau.

CFPB Director Chopra Statement on Appraisal Task Force Report

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Rohit Chopra issued a statement regarding the final report of the Interagency Task Force on Property Appraisal and Valuation Equity (PAVE).

U.S. Department of Education Announces Steps to Hold Institutions Accountable for Taxpayer Losses

The U.S. Department of Education (Department) today announced updated steps to ensure that companies that own institutions are held responsible for funds owed to the federal government, including liabilities arising from closed school loan discharges and borrower defense to repayment claims. This will ensure that even if a school closes, the Department can recover funds from entities that had a direct or indirect ownership interest in the school instead of leaving the bill to taxpayers. These new procedures will protect taxpayers, students, and borrowers through incentivizing better performance by the schools and allowing the Department to recover liabilities from corporate owners.

CFPB Issues Policy on Contractual ‘Gag’ Clauses and Fake Review Fraud

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued policy guidance regarding potentially illegal practices related to consumer reviews. The CFPB seeks to ensure that customers can write reviews, particularly ones posted online, about financial products and services that accurately reflect their opinions and experiences. The guidance also highlights that practices such as posting fake reviews or inserting clauses that forbid a customer from publishing an honest review may violate the Consumer Financial Protection Act.

Wells Fargo Sued Over Discriminatory Home Lending Practices

A Los Angeles based law firm says it is filing a federal lawsuit against Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., and Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, claiming discrimination against Black applicants for home mortgage refinancing through the bank's Home Mortgage lender service. The lawsuit will join others filed last month.

CFPB Expands Anti-Discrimination by Applying UDAAP to Credit and Non-credit Products

On March 16, 2022, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced a significant expansion to its anti-discrimination oversight and enforcement of covered persons, stating expressly that it will now apply such scrutiny to all consumer finance products and services, regardless of whether they involve an extension of credit. The non-credit products and services the Bureau identified as ones it will prioritize during examinations and for enforcement include collections, servicing, consumer reporting, payments, remittances, and deposits.

The State of Low-Income America: CREDIT ACCESS & DEBT PAYMENT

The data are primarily sourced from the New York Fed’s Consumer Credit Panel, which is derived from anonymized Equifax credit data and is the source for the Bank’s Quarterly Report on Household Debt and Credit, which reports on these concepts nationally. Credit report data do not provide information on income: for this, we use geographic information on the borrowers’ census tracts and merge it with income data from the American Community Survey. The definitions of low- and moderate-income levels are taken from the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC), using data from the American Consumer Survey (ACS).

Court Imposes Restrictions on Credit Repair Company to Protect Consumers

The Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that a federal court in Houston, Texas, entered a permanent injunction barring a credit repair company and its CEO from representing that it can repair or improve consumers’ credit scores. The court also entered a preliminary injunction that prohibits the defendants from making large or non-essential expenditures to preserve assets for consumer redress.

Senior Housing Lending on the Upswing, Underwriting Focuses on Operating Margins

The lending environment within the senior housing sector became more competitive, with borrowing activity increasing in 2021. Banks returned to the market during the second half of 2021 in particular, according to lender survey results released Friday by Chicago-based speciality investment bank Ziegler. One respondent noted $700 million 2021 volume, compared to $600 million in 2020, with the lending environment becoming more competitive.

Utah inches closer to becoming fourth state to pass privacy law

Last week, the Utah House of Representatives unanimously passed a consumer privacy bill -- the Utah Consumer Privacy Act -- moving it one step closer to becoming the fourth state to enact privacy legislation in the US. 

Most medical debt will be wiped from consumer credit reports

A large number of U.S. consumers will have their medical debt wiped from their credit reports, the nation’s largest credit reporting agencies announced Friday. Equifax, Experian and TransUnion said in a joint statement they would remove nearly 70% of medical collection debt accounts from consumer credit reports after conducting months of market research. The changes will start to take place this summer.

AG Donovan Sues Illegal Robocall Carrier TCA VOIP

Attorney General T.J. Donovan today filed a federal lawsuit against a California-based company, Telecom Carrier Access doing business as TCA VOIP, and its owner, Dominic Bohnett, for knowingly bringing thousands of robocalls into Vermont. The Attorney General’s Office began its investigation after receiving reports of a robocall displaying an 802-area code, impersonating the Social Security Administration. A traceback investigation, conducted with assistance from the Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General, revealed TCA VOIP to be the source of the call. The complaint alleges that the Defendants violated Vermont’s Consumer Protection Act, as well as other state and federal laws, by knowingly bringing millions of illegal robocalls into the U.S., and thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of illegal robocalls into Vermont, including government imposter and business imposter scams.

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