Goodwin’s Consumer Finance Insights (CFI) monitors, reports, and analyzes the latest legal news, activity, and developments impacting the consumer finance industry. Consumer financial services companies—whether banks, fintechs, nonbank and alternative lenders, payment providers, or industry vendors or service providers, like digital advertisers and lead generators—face a constantly shifting and maturing regulatory and legal landscape. Growing from the Financial Crisis, today more than any time in history the consumer finance industry must confront a robust and growing body of industry legislation and regulation, all while under the microscope of sophisticated enforcers, like the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and state regulators and attorneys general. It is critical for in-house and outside corporate counsel, compliance departments, and business executives to stay informed and aware of these developments to navigate institutional, reputational, and legal risks. Goodwin’s CFI is a singular source of the most recent industry news and latest enforcement activity for you to leverage. Here, you will find links to original enforcement documents, enforcement activity statistics, and reports, analysis, and commentary from Goodwin’s leading Consumer Financial Services Litigation and Enforcement practitioners.

Minnesota AG Enters into Consent Order Over High-Cost Online Lenders, Discharging Over $1 Million in Loans

On Tuesday, November 26, the Minnesota Attorney General’s office (AG) announced it filed a consent order to resolve allegations that online lenders were charging interest on loans in excess of the amounts prescribed under Minnesota usury laws.  Under the consent order, over $1 million in allegedly illegal loans were discharged….

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CFPB Enters Into $95 Million Consent Order with Credit Union to Resolve Allegations of Improper Overdraft Fee Practices

​On November 7, 2024, the CFPB ann​ounced​​ that it had entered into​ a consent order with a major credit union​​ resolving ​allegations that the credit union improperly assessed overdraft fees against consumers​​. The credit union agreed to pay nearly $95 million to resolve the allegations. ​​In its ​consent order​, the CFPB​ alleged that…

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FTC Files Suit Against Online Cash Advance Provider for Allegedly Deceptive and Misleading Conduct

On November 5, 2024, the FTC announced​ that it had filed suit against a California-based online cash advance provider for allegedly deceptive and misleading advertisements and representations, in violation of the FTC Act, 15 U.S.C. § 45(a), and the Restore Online Shoppers’ Confidence Act (“ROSCA”), 15 U.S.C. § 8403.z According to…

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FTC Sues Debt Collector Over Alleged Deceptive Practices

​On November 4, 2024, the FTC​ an​nounced ​that it had filed suit against a ​Georgia-based debt collector​ for engaging in allegedly deceptive and abusive​ debt collection practices, in violation of the FTC Act, 15 U.S.C. § 45(a), the FDCPA, 15 U.S.C. §§ 1692-1692p, and its associated Regulation F, 12 C.F.R. Part 1006, and the Gramm-Leach-Bliley…

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Ninth Circuit Strikes Mass Arbitration Agreement as Unenforceable under California Law

On October 28, 2024, the Ninth Circuit struck a mass arbitration agreement as unconscionable and unenforceable under California law in Heckman v. Live Nation Ent., Inc., No. 23-55770.  The three-judge panel affirmed the district court’s decision holding that the arbitration agreement’s delegation clause was unconscionable under California law.  The panel…

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CFPB Enters into Consent Orders with Tech Company and Bank Over Credit Card Allegations

On October 23, 2024, the CFPB announced that it had entered into separate consent orders with a large tech company and a bank over a joint credit card venture. The CFPB alleges that the credit card, which combined the tech company’s software with the credit-backing of the bank, ​was launched prematurely, which…

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CFPB Issues Guidance Emphasizing the Importance for Banks to Maintain Sufficient Proof of Customers’ Affirmative Consent to Overdraft Services

In recent discussions surrounding banking practices, the issue of overdraft fees, particularly for ATM and one-time debit card transactions, has gained significant attention.  On September 17, 2024, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (Bureau) issued Consumer Financial Protection Circular 2024-05 asserting that “[a] bank or credit union can be in violation…

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Constitutionality of Shortened Time Limits on New York Foreclosures Still Unresolved

On September 12, 2024, New York’s highest court dismissed an appeal challenging the constitutionality of the retroactive application of the Foreclosure Abuse Prevention Act (“FAPA”), a law that amended certain New York rules to strictly cabin the time limits for commencing mortgage foreclosures.  The Court of Appeals, on its own motion,…

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CFPB Permanently Bans Large Student Loan Servicer from Market and Orders Redress of $120 Million

On September 12, 2024, the CFPB announced that it entered into a stipulated proposed order with a large student loan servicer resolving allegations that the servicer forced borrowers into costly repayment options.​ Under the proposed order, the servicer would cease its servicing federal direct loans. In a January 2017 complaint, the CFPB accused the…

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CFPB Enters into $28 Million Consent Order Resolving Allegations of Consumer Credit Misreporting

​On September 11, the CFPB announced that it had entered into a consent order with a national bank resolving allegations that the bank reported inaccurate information to consumer reporting companies.  The bank agreed to pay nearly $28 million to resolve these allegations.​ The CFPB alleged the bank violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and the Consumer…

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CFPB Report Spotlights Consumer Risks with Private, Solar-Specific Loans

On August 7, 2024, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued a report spotlighting four marketing and financing practices relating to solar financing that it claims pose significant consumer risks (the Report).  The CFPB noted that solar-powered electricity is a growing industry—suggesting that these risks may become an enforcement priority. …

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CFPB Enters Into Consent Order With Mortgage Servicer Resolving Allegations of Improper Foreclosure Practices

On August 21, 2024, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)​ announced​ that it entered into a consent order with a​ Florida-based mortgage servicer, resolving allegations related to the mortgage servicer’s foreclosure practices. ​The consent order​ resolves allegations ​that the mortgage servicer’s foreclosure practices violated the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 (CFPA), 12 U.S.C. §§ 5531, 5536; the…

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CFPB Files Suit Against "Rent-to-Own" Business Alleging Illegal Lending Practices

​On July 26, 2024, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced that it filed a complaint against a point-of-sale financing company and its former chief executive officer in the United States District Court for the District of Utah. The complaint alleges that defendants’ “virtual rent-to-own” ​product uses misleading marketing and abusive enrollment practices that target consumers with…

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