At a glanceFriday, April 08, 2022

Collection Industry News At A Glance - April 8, 2022
Friday April 8, 2022
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Articles

 
How the latest student loan pause could help borrowers — even without forgiveness

All student loan borrowers currently in default will be given a fresh start once the federal moratorium on student loan payments expires — a move experts say could help millions unburden themselves from crippling debt.  

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U.S. FDIC asks banks for info on crypto activities, cites potential ‘systemic risks’

WASHINGTON, April 7 (Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) on Thursday said the thousands of banks it supervises should notify the regulator of any crypto-related activities they have or are planning.

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New Data Show CUs Need Much More Than Good Service to Retain Members

Credit unions (CUs) are the underdog in the constant competitive battle among financial institutions (FIs). Established banks can harness far more resources, and digital-native FinTechs have a head start with innovative digital solutions that customers crave. CUs’ traditional advantage over their counterparts — member loyalty — can quickly be whittled away if they do not step up their digital service offerings.

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Subject: Compliance with 23 N.Y.C.R.R. § 1.3(b) and the new Consumer Credit Fairness Act

The Department is issuing this guidance to address potential confusion about how to comply with notice requirements of 23 N.Y.C.R.R. § 1.3(b) in light of a recent amendment to the New York Civil Practice Law and Rules (“CPLR”) taking effect April 7, 2022. That amendment, set forth in § 4 of the Consumer Credit Fairness Act (“CCFA”) (L.2021, c. 593), adds a new section 214-i to the CPLR that provides, in relevant part, as to the statute of limitations applicable to actions arising out of consumer credit transactions, “Notwithstanding any other provision of law, when the applicable limitations period expires, any subsequent payment toward, written or oral affirmation of or other activity on the debt does not revive or extend the limitation period.” 23 N.Y.C.R.R. § 1.3(b) of the Department’s regulation governing debt collectors requires that, “[i]f a debt collector knows or has reason to know that the statute of limitations for a debt may be expired, before accepting payment on the debt, the debt collector must provide the consumer with clear and conspicuous notice, in the same medium (such as via telephone or electronic communication) by which the debt collector will accept payment, that,” among other things, “if the consumer makes any payment on a debt for which the statute of limitations has expired or admits, affirms, acknowledges, or promises to pay such debt, the statute of limitations may restart.”

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Attorney General Bonta Announces Partnership with FCC on Robocall Investigations

OAKLAND — California Attorney General Rob Bonta and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) today announced a new partnership on robocall investigations. This Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between California and federal robocall investigators establishes critical information sharing and cooperation structures to investigate spoofing and robocalls scam campaigns. California joins more than twenty states in establishing a formal working relationship with the FCC’s Enforcement Bureau to support robocall investigations and protect American consumers and businesses. 

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Rising mortgage rates are causing more home sellers to lower their asking prices

Several new reports from real estate companies suggest buyers may be starting to get a break in this red-hot housing market. More listings are coming up for sale, and some sellers are lowering their asking prices.

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Americans ramp up credit-card debt as inflation spikes to 40-year high

More Americans are relying on their credit cards to keep bills paid as inflation has skyrocketed to a 40-year high.

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Climate risk should be considered in housing decisions

Flooding, fire, drought, and other weather-related risks have always been a danger to property and consumer wellbeing. However, with the changing climate, these risks are increasing in intensity and frequency, impacting the probability of damage, cost of utilities, price of insurance, and potential resale value of homes.

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EXCLUSIVE U.S. consumer watchdog to ramp up credit card enforcement, may review fee caps

WASHINGTON/NEW YORK, April 7 (Reuters) - The U.S. consumer watchdog plans to ramp up enforcement actions against lenders that illegally charge credit card late-payment fees and may rewrite its rules that set thresholds for such fees, according to two people with direct knowledge of the matter.

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Student loan companies ‘abusing the bankruptcy system’ will face consequences: CFPB letter

Student loan companies will face consequences if they mislead borrowers and collect on private debt that has been discharged by a bankruptcy court, according to a letter sent by the country’s top consumer watchdog to Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) that was obtained by Yahoo Finance.

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Consumer debt soars to highest level in over a decade

Americans racked up the most monthly consumer debt in over a decade in February, amid a surge of credit card swiping.

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FTC Win at Trial Against On Point Global Makes $102 Million in Refunds Available for Consumers Harmed by Fake Government Website Scams

The Federal Trade Commission’s trial win against On Point Global has made $102 million in refunds available to consumers who were harmed by a wide-ranging scheme that led them to pay money or hand over personal information to fake government websites. Consumers who were harmed must apply for redress payments by July 5, 2022.Consumers who were deceived by a wide-ranging scheme into handing over money or personal information in exchange for bogus advice on how to apply for government benefits can apply for redress payments as a result of a Federal Trade Commission lawsuit, but must do so by July 5, 2022.

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21 Attorneys General Urged CFPB to Regulate BNPL

On March 25, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) closed its request for comments regarding the inquiry on buy now, pay later (BNPL) that it launched in December. PYMNTS assessed the 44 public comments available on the government website, and the vast majority of them urged the CFPB to increase transparency and information disclosure requirements from BNPL firms.

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Genisys Credit Union is named Outstanding Credit Union of the Year

AUBURN HILLS — Genisys Credit Union is excited to announce that they are the recipient of the 2022 Outstanding Credit Union of the Year, Large Asset Size, Award by the Michigan Credit Union League (MCUL). The award recognizes a credit union for outstanding contributions towards member services and community engagement.

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U.S. consumer watchdog to ramp up credit card enforcement, may review fee caps

WASHINGTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) -The U.S. consumer watchdog plans to ramp up enforcement actions against lenders that illegally charge credit card late-payment fees and may rewrite its rules that set thresholds for such fees, according to two people with direct knowledge of the matter.

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Many payday lenders steer borrowers to higher-cost repayment options, consumer watchdog says

Many payday loan borrowers aren’t using the lowest-cost repayment option in states where it’s available, which perpetuates a cycle of high fees and debt, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said Wednesday in a report.

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Prohibition on Inclusion of Adverse Information in Consumer Reporting in Cases of Human Trafficking (Regulation V)

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (Bureau) seeks comment on proposed amendments to Regulation V, which implements the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), to assist consumers who are victims of trafficking. The proposed rule, which would implement a recent amendment to the FCRA, would establish a method for a victim of trafficking to submit documentation to consumer reporting agencies, including information identifying any adverse item of information about the consumer that resulted from certain types of human trafficking, and prohibit the consumer reporting agencies from furnishing a consumer report containing the adverse item(s) of information.

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CFPB Seeks to Halt Negative Credit Reporting for Survivors of Human Trafficking

Today, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is using its rulemaking authority to propose that consumer reporting agencies (CRAs) do not prevent survivors of human trafficking from achieving financial independence. The proposed rule would protect survivors of human trafficking by preventing CRAs from including negative information resulting from abuse. Congress required the CFPB to issue rules as part of the recently-enacted Debt Bondage Repair Act.

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Federal Trade Commission Finalizes Order Against Dun & Bradstreet for Deceiving Businesses and Failing to Update Errors on Business Credit Reports

The Federal Trade Commission has finalized an order against Dun & Bradstreet, a provider of business credit report services, for deceiving businesses about the value of products they offered and for failing to correct errors on businesses’ credit reports.

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Semi-Annual Report of the
Consumer Financial
Protection Bureau

The Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection is pleased to present our Semi-Annual Report to Congress for the period beginning April 1, 2021 and ending September 30, 2021.

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Director Chopra’s Opening Remarks to the Consumer Advisory Board

Good afternoon. In modern consumer financial markets, financial institutions rely on more and more data every day. Today, I want to specifically focus on the issues associated with the furnishing of allegedly unpaid medical bills on consumer credit reports. I also want to share some of the CFPB’s early thinking on the recent announcement by Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion, regarding their reporting of medical bills.

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CFPB Adds “Discrimination” to its “Unfair, Deceptive, or Abusive Acts and Practices” (UDAAP) Examination Guidance

On March 16, 2022, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced its intent to address discrimination as an “unfair practice” under the Consumer Financial Protection Act (commonly known as Dodd-Frank). Specifically, by indicating that discrimination falls within “unfair practices” in its Exam Manual, the CFPB has authorized its examiners to look “beyond discrimination directly connected to fair lending laws” and ask companies to “review any policies or practices that exclude individuals from products and services, or offer products or services with different terms, in an unfairly discriminatory manner.”[1]

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Kinecta Joins the Worldwide Foundation for Credit Unions’ Ukrainian Credit Union Displacement Fund Campaign and Commits up to $50,000

MANHATTAN BEACH, Calif., April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Kinecta Federal Credit Union joins the Worldwide Foundation for Credit Unions, the fundraising and engagement arm of the World Council of Credit Unions (WOCCU), on its Ukrainian Credit Union Displacement Fund campaign. Kinecta is committed to supporting those impacted by the ongoing crisis and asks members and non-members to make donations at any of its locations or online at https://kinecta.ejoinme.org/ukrainianrelief through April 18, 2022. For every $1 donated, Kinecta will match $2 towards Ukrainian relief efforts up to $50,000.

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CFPB Finds Payday Borrowers Continue to Pay Significant Rollover Fees Despite State-Level Protections and Payment Plans

A report published today by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) shows few payday loan borrowers are benefiting from no-cost extended payment plans, which are required to be offered to borrowers in the majority of states that do not prohibit payday lending. Instead of using the payment plans, borrowers continue to pay for costly loan rollovers. While no-cost extended payment plans are meant to help borrowers exit the cycle of rollovers and fees, the payday business model continues to depend on high rollover rates and fees.

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Biden-Harris Administration Extends Student Loan Pause Through August 31

Today, the U.S. Department of Education (Department) announced an extension of the pause on student loan repayment, interest, and collections through August 31, 2022. While the economy continues to improve and COVID cases continue to decline, President Biden has made clear the continuing need to respond to the pandemic and its economic consequences, as well as to allow for the responsible phase-down of pandemic relief.

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CFPB files amicus brief in Wells Fargo servicing lawsuit

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Monday filed an amicus brief in a 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals lawsuit that broadly interprets the responsibility servicers have in answering borrower questions.

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21 Attorneys General Urged CFPB to Regulate BNPL

On March 25, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) closed its request for comments regarding the inquiry on buy now, pay later (BNPL) that it launched in December. PYMNTS assessed the 44 public comments available on the government website, and the vast majority of them urged the CFPB to increase transparency and information disclosure requirements from BNPL firms.

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Don Hill 1942-2022

It is with great sadness that we share the news of the passing of Don Hill, our good friend and business associate.  He will be missed greatly.  The obituary link is:  https://www.restlandfuneralhome.com/obituaries/Donald-Hill-28/#!/Obituary

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Remitter appoints Holly Balchan as EVP Business Integration

April 5 2022, Phoenix, Arizona] Remitter USA Inc., an AI powered digital communications platform used to improve payment recovery, has appointed leading Accounts Receivables Management professional Holly Balchan to head its Business Integration initiatives. Balchan joins the team from Mercantile Adjustment Bureau, which was acquired by Remitter in October 2021, where she headed business development and special projects. She started her career, which includes consulting & advisory services, in ARM directly from college, working for a then leading asset buyer, prior to joining a tier one collection agency heading up its business development.

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TCN to Participate in Consumer Relations Consortium’s Innovation Council Spring 2022 Meeting to Advance Technology Solutions for the ARM and Collections Industry

The Consumer Relations Consortium’s (CRC) Innovation Council is an initiative developed by insideARM and the iA Institute that works to redefine the significant issues impacting the collections industry. This council enables members, composed of senior technology, strategy, operations and compliance executives, to work together and share operational insights and best practices with consumer groups and regulators in order to implement better processes, procedures and solutions across the industry.

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Mortgage delinquencies rose for the first time in 9 months. Here’s what that means for the housing market.

Mortgage delinquencies are on the rise. Indeed, in February, the national delinquency rate rose for the first time in 9 months, largely driven by a 97,000 rise in early-stage delinquencies — or those that were 30 – 60 days past due, according to new data based on month-end mortgage performance statistics from Black Knight, a mortgage and real estate data and analytics company. The number of properties that are 30 or more days past due or in foreclosure reached approximately 1.95 million nationwide, while total U.S. foreclosure starts hit 25,000, up 541% from the same time last year, Black Knight revealed.

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Mortgage and refinance rates today, April 5, 2022

Average mortgage rates fell modestly yesterday. And they’re now appreciably lower than they were on Mar. 25, which was when we saw the last giant rise. But they remain much higher than they were before that day.

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Medical debt, ‘a persistent problem,’ hits $195 billion in U.S.

Nearly one in 10 adults owe medical debt of at least $250 as of December 2019, according to “The Burden of Medical Debt in the United States,” published by the Peterson Center on Healthcare and Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF).

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Helping borrowers hold mortgage servicers accountable

On Monday, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) filed a friend-of-the-court (“amicus”) brief in McCoy v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., a case in which two mortgage borrowers sued their loan servicer for refusing to answer their questions about their loans. Wells Fargo argued that it is not required to answer these written questions from its borrowers despite clear obligations in federal law, and that is the issue now before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

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Student-loan payment plans that are based on income have failed borrowers — a new report revealed they’re ‘worse than we expected,’ a top Democrat says

The failure of student-loan repayment plans based on income is no secret, but a new investigation from NPR revealed the flaws with those plans are much worse than anyone had thought.

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ACA Issues Clarifying Comments to CFPB on ARM Industry’s Use of

ACA International submitted comments to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on its Request for Information (RFI) regarding fees related to consumer financial products and services April 1 clarifying the use of fees in the debt collection industry.

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Compliance: NCUA final rule on ‘service facility’ definition

NCUA issued a Letter to Federal Credit Unions (22-FCU-02) on the final rule amending the definition of “service facility” for multiple common-bond credit unions. The rule became effective Dec. 27, 2021.

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House Financial Services GOP Concerned About ‘Regulatory Overreach’ in CFPB’s RFI on Fees

Republican members of the House Financial Services Committee submitted questions on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Request for Information on convenience fees to Director Rohit Chopra March 31 and subsequently held a hearing, “The End of Overdraft Fees? Examining the Movement to Eliminate the Fees Costing Consumers Billions” with the Subcommittee on Consumer Protection and Financial Institutions.

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Repeat Offenders, Beware! CFPB Director Announces Enforcement Strategy; Takes Shot at Financial Services Regulators of the Past

CFPB Director Rohit Chopra has signaled that he is ready to take on corporate recidivism in the financial services industry. He gave the University of Pennsylvania Program on Regulation's 11th Annual Distinguished Lecture, "Reining in Repeat Offenders," on March 28, 2022. Chopra offered his thoughts about the measures CFPB and other agencies could take to curb repeat violations of financial services laws.

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CFPB Report Shows Credit Card Late Fees Declining, Below Set Limits

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau published on March 29 a report on credit card late fees where the regulator provided data about the amount of late fees charged by type of consumer. The main findings from the report are that credit card late fees have been in decline for the last few years and consumers with lower credit scores incurred more late fees than consumers with better scores.

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DC Protects Consumers From Unjust Debt Collection Practices Amendment Act of 2021

On March 15, the D.C. Council of the District of Columbia Committee of the Whole met in a full hearing, in part to hear amendments introduced to B24-0357 by Councilmember and Chair Phil Mendelson (D).

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Nebraskans lost $19.7M to cybercrime in 2021, per FBI’s Internet Crime Report for 2021

OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — On Thursday, the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Omaha Field Office distributed the FBI's Internet Crime Report for 2021. The Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) determined in the annual report that Nebraskans lost $19.7 million, while Iowans lost approximately $33.8 million to cybercrime in 2021.

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Industry Events

 
Collection and Recovery Solutions 2022

Resource Management Services, Inc.

Our live Collection and Recovery Solutions event will be held May 25 – 27 at the Four Seasons in Las Vegas. We hope you can join us! Our team can always be reached at crs@resourcemanagement.com

May 25 - 27 , 2022

562-906-1101

RMAi Executive Summit 2022

RMAi

The Osthoff Resort
Elkhart LakeI , WI
August 02 - 04 , 2022

9164822462