Despite a Series of Challenges, Consumer Credit Health Remains Relatively Strong in Opening Quarter of 2022

Rising interest rates and the increased prices of goods and services placed pressure on the consumer wallet in the opening quarter of 2022. Despite the challenges, consumers remain well positioned from a consumer credit perspective, according to TransUnion’s (NYSE: TRU) newly released Q1 2022 Quarterly Credit Industry Insights Report (CIIR).

Connecticut Fifth State to Pass a Comprehensive Privacy Law

Connecticut just joined California,  Colorado, Utah, and Virginia in passing a comprehensive privacy law. The Connecticut Data Privacy Act (CTDPA) goes into effect July 1, 2023, the same time as Colorado’s very similar law. Companies preparing for these new laws (Virginia goes into effect January 1, 2023 and Utah December 31, 2023) will want to keep in mind the following five things about this fifth general US state privacy law.

Attorney General Bonta Urges FTC to Examine Deceptive Claims by For-Profit Colleges Relating to Student Earning Potential

OAKLAND – California Attorney General Rob Bonta today joined 24 attorneys general in supporting the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) efforts to address misleading claims made by certain industries, including for-profit schools about earning potential. State attorneys general have long been at the forefront of efforts to hold predatory for-profit colleges accountable for defrauding its students, investigating and taking enforcement action against schools like Ashford University and Corinthian Colleges for misrepresentations related to post-graduation earning potential. In today’s letter, the attorneys general encourage the FTC to look at the harm these schools can and often do inflict on students, as well as the variety of ways in which for-profit schools misrepresent future earnings, as part of its rulemaking to strengthen its ability to obtain restitution in cases involving misleading earnings claims.

Improving how the CFPB gathers feedback

At the CFPB, we are committed to delivering trustworthy, impartial, accurate and timely information to the people we serve. To maintain this commitment we provide clear, impartial answers to hundreds of financial questions on Ask CFPB. Ask CFPB offers information you can use to make more informed choices about your money. Ask CFPB helps more than 6 million people do so each year and has helped more than 43 million lifetime users.

CFPB and FTC Urge Second Circuit to adopt expansive interpretation of CRA Reasonable Procedures for Maximum Accuracy Requirement

The CFPB and the FTC recently filed an amicus brief in an appeal to the Second Circuit, arguing that the Court should reject the District Court’s “unduly narrow” interpretation of the FCRA requirement that consumer reporting agencies (CRAs) follow reasonable procedures to assure accuracy of information included in consumer reports.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Under Rohit Chopra is Harming Competition and Consumer Choice

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is departing from its core responsibilities by attempting to regulate market competition, shunning procedural requirements under the Administrative Procedure Act, and devising new enforcement powers for the director, writes Bill Hulse, vice president at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Center for Capital Markets Competitiveness.

Student Loan Debt Becomes Second-Largest Consumer Debt Category Behind Mortgages

In the first quarter of 2022, student loan debt reached an all-time high of $1.59 trillion, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and as reported by CNBC. Student loan debt accounts for 10% of total household debt, making it the second-largest category of consumer debt behind mortgages.

New report finds half of all credit union industry assets at risk from climate change

BOSTON, May 11, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Ceres and the Filene Research Institute have released a new report that finds thousands of U.S credit unions have significant unaddressed risk arising from the climate crisis. This first-of-its-kind analysis provides insights on how credit unions can respond to the climate crisis, mitigate their risks, and become part of a system-wide solution. 

Consumer credit card debt and annual percentage rates are heading to an all-time high

Credit card balances rose year over year, reaching $841 billion in the first three months of 2022, according to data released Tuesday from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

CFPB Orders Scam’s Ringleaders to Pay More Than $8 Million to Consumers and Student Loan Borrowers

Washington, D.C. – Today, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) finalized an enforcement action against debt-relief payment-processors RAM Payment and Account Management Systems (AMS), as well as AMS’s co-founders, Gregory Winters and Stephen Chaya, for collecting debt-relief fees from consumers, lying to consumers about when the fees would be paid to debt-relief companies, and sending illegal advance fees to debt-relief companies before they were legally allowed to do so. They also failed to return funds to consumers who cancelled student-loan debt relief agreements, as required by law. The CFPB is ordering RAM Payment, AMS, Winters, and Chaya to pay more than $11 million in consumer redress and civil money penalties.

CFPB’s Opinion on Fair Lending Rules Could Extend to AI

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has published an advisory opinion to affirm that banks and other lenders need to follow fair lending laws when canceling loans or changing terms and not just during the application process. According to the advisory opinion published on Monday (May 9), some lenders have been following the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) only when issuing loans. But the CFPB interprets Regulation B, the ECOA’s implementing rule, as applying to “approval, denial, renewal, continuation or revocation of any open-end consumer credit account.” This means rules apply before and after the bank approves the credit, the CFPB argued.

Medical debt has dropped during pandemic, new research shows. That trend soon could shift

The share of adults ages 18 through 64 who carry medical debt dropped to 16.8% in April 2021 from 23.6% in March 2019, according to a new study from the Urban Institute, a think tank focused on economic and social policy research. Yet as federal programs that have allowed people to secure affordable health coverage during the pandemic inch closer to ending, problems paying medical bills could rise again.

Household debt nears $16 trillion despite rising rates and inflation

Even with rampant inflation and rapidly accelerating interest rates, household borrowing climbed to start 2022 and hit a new record, the Federal Reserve reported Tuesday.

Student loan debt hits another record high despite payment forbearance

Student debt hit another all-time high in the first quarter of 2022, reaching $1.59 trillion, according to data released by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York on Tuesday. This debt category accounts for just over 10% of total household debt, which is nearing a whopping $16 trillion. This is the second-largest category of consumer debt, behind home mortgages. This news comes amid rumors that the Biden administration is considering $10,000 in federal student debt forgiveness, and after another extension of the federal student loan payment forbearance until Aug. 31.

New BNPL Study Shatters Myths about Millennials and Gen Z and Creates Opportunities for Banks

CHICAGO, May 10, 2022--(BUSINESS WIRE)--A new consumer study shatters perceptions about Millennials and Generation Z consumers when it comes to their preferences and eligibility around innovative financing products.

U.S. Senate panel advances bill to help FTC fight deception, fraud

WASHINGTON, May 11 (Reuters) - U.S. lawmakers on Wednesday sent to the Senate floor a Democratic-backed bill that would allow the Federal Trade Commission to force deceptive companies to return money to victims.

Support Spanish-speaking customers with Spanish-language disclosures

Financial service providers increasingly recognize the need for more services and customer-facing materials in languages other than English. Over the years, we have encouraged financial institutions to provide fair and transparent access to products and services to people who are more comfortable using a language other than English.

CFPB issues advisory opinion on fair-lending laws

WASHINGTON — The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Monday issued an advisory opinion affirming that the federal prohibition against discrimination in lending applies to all aspects of a credit decision — not just the application process. 

Nonbank Financial Companies Now Covered By Consumer Laws

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) recently welcomed nonbank fintech companies to the world of CFPB regulation. It did so by announcing its intent to use its long-dormant authority to hold nonbank financial companies to the same standards as traditional banking institutions when it comes to consumer financial products and services.

En banc Fifth Circuit rules CFPB enforcement action can proceed against All American Check Cashing but concurring opinion creates potential for further constitutional challenge based on CFPB’s funding mechanism

The en banc U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has ruled that the CFPB’s enforcement action against All American Check Cashing can proceed despite the unconstitutionality of the CFPB’s single-director-removable-only-for-cause-structure at the time the enforcement action was filed.  However, in a concurring opinion, five judges expressed their agreement with All American’s argument that the unconstitutionality of the CFPB’s funding mechanism requires dismissal of the enforcement action.

The CFPB’s 2021 Fair Lending Annual Report to Congress

Today, the CFPB released its annual Fair Lending Report to Congress , detailing the important fair lending work undertaken in 2021, which focused on racial and economic equity issues and the COVID-19 recovery.

Payday loan borrowers charged steep rollover fees despite consumer protections: CFPB

Payday lenders provide small-dollar loans that are repaid in a single lump-sum installment, typically on the borrower's next payday. While these loans may offer fast funding without a credit check, they often trap consumers in a cycle of debt due to the short repayment term and high annual percentage rate (APR).

CFPB Issues Advisory Opinion on Coverage of Fair Lending Laws

Washington, D.C. – Today, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) published an advisory opinion to affirm that the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA)—a landmark federal civil rights law protecting individuals and businesses against discrimination in accessing and using credit—bars lenders from discriminating against customers after they have received a loan, not just during the application process.

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