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.

California Attorney General Announces Settlement With Realty Company Over Deceptive Contract And Lien Practices

On April 4, 2025, the California Attorney General announced that it had reached a settlement with a California-based realty company concerning claims that the company had violated California false advertising, unfair competition, and telemarketing laws and federal telemarketing and lending laws via allegedly luring vulnerable homeowners into a predatory contract scheme that caused homeowners to…

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Republicans Invoke the CRA to Repeal Chopra-Era Rules

The Republican-led Congress has invoked the Congressional Review Act (CRA) in attempts to revoke final rules that former CFPB Director Chopra issued toward the end of Biden’s Administration.  Under the CRA, Congress can repeal an agency’s final rule by passing a joint resolution of disapproval by simple majority vote.  The…

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CFPB is Proceeding with Some of Its Enforcement Actions, But Most Are Now Stayed or Dismissed

Although the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) voluntarily dismissed a slew of its own enforcement actions following Rohit Chopra’s removal as CFPB Director on January 31, 2025, the Bureau has affirmatively indicated its intent to continue litigating only a handful of cases so far. There were, by our…

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New York Seeks to Expand Consumer Protections by Proposing New Legislation and by Increasing Recruitment at its Department of Financial Services

As we recently reported, there have been rollbacks of consumer protections on the federal level, including the curtailing of enforcement activity at the CFPB.  In response to this activity, on March 13, 2025, the New York Office of the Attorney General (OAG) announced its support of new legislation to enable…

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NJ Attorney General Issues Finding of Probable Cause for Discrimination on Part of Cash Advance Business

On March 11, 2025, the New Jersey Attorney General announced that it had issued a Finding of Probable Cause for violation of the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination against a business that provides cash advances and loans to borrowers. The Finding of Probable Cause found that the business had a policy of…

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Amid Dismissals and Uncertainty, CFPB Says It Will Continue Litigating At Least One Matter Inherited From Prior Administration

In a significant development, for the first time under Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Acting Director Russell Vought, CFPB litigators have informed a court that they have received authority from the Acting Director to continue litigating a matter. Since Rohit Chopra was removed as Director of the CFPB on January 31,…

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Portions of New York’s FAPA Survive Constitutional Challenges

Over the last four months, New York’s Appellate Division has finally begun to address constitutional challenges to the state’s Foreclosure Abuse Prevention Act (FAPA), an act that became effective in December 2022 and promptly generated disparate trial court interpretations about whether the law was supposed to apply retroactively.  As noted…

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CFPB Orders Money Exchange Company to Pay $2.5 Million Over Remittance Practices

On January 30, 2025, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced  that it had entered into a consent order with an international remittance company regarding the company’s use of deceptive advertising for fee amounts and failure to properly disclose applicable fees, in violation of both the Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA) and the Electronic Fund…

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New York Department of Financial Services Reaches $2,000,000 Settlement with Peer-to-Peer Payment Platform

On January 23, 2025, the New York Department of Financial Services (DFS) announced that it reached a $2,000,000 settlement as part of a broader consent order with a peer-to-peer payment platform (“P2P”) about its cybersecurity practices.  DFS contended that the P2P violated rules on Cybersecurity Policy, Cybersecurity Personnel and Intelligence,…

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CFPB Resolves Allegations of Improper Investigations of Credit Reporting Errors with Credit Reporting Agency

​On January 17, 2025, the CFPB announced that it had entered into a consent order with a credit reporting agency to resolve allegations that the agency​ violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and the Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA)​​ by purportedly conducting unreasonable investigations into consumer credit reporting disputes. In its consent order,…

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CFPB Enters into Consent Order with Car Manufacturer Resolving Allegations of Credit Reporting Failures

​On January 17, 2025, the CFPB announced that it had entered into a consent order with the financing arm of a major auto manufacturer, resolving allegations ​that the manufacturer violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and its implementing Regulation V, and the Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA) through its allegedly improper reporting of consumer credit information…

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CFPB Enters Into Consent Order with Peer-to-Peer Payment Application Operator Resolving Allegations of Failures to Investigate Fraud

​On January 16, 2025, the CFPB announced that it had entered into a consent o​rder​ with the operator of a ​popular peer-to-peer payment application, resolving allegations that the operator had systematically failed to adequately investigate consumer ​claims of fraud.​ The operator agreed to pay a minimum of $130 million (and​ ​up to $175​​…

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CFPB Settles Suit Against Student Loan Trust for Allegedly Improper Debt Collection Suits Against Borrowers

​On January 16, 2025, the CFPB announced that it entered into a stipulated proposed ​final judgment ​to settle its suit against a student loan trust, in which the CFPB alleged that the trust​​ engaged in deceptive acts in violation of the Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA) by filing improper debt collection suits against student borrowers….

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DOJ Enters Into $108.7 Million Settlement with Credit Card Provider Resolving Allegations of Deceptive Marketing Practices

​On January 16, 2025, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that it had reached a settlement​ with a credit card provider resolving allegations that the provider violated the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act (FIRREA) through allegedly deceptive marketing of its credit card and wire transfer products, and by allegedly…

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CFPB Files Suit Against Bank For Alleged Savings Account Interest Rate Freezing

On January 14, 2025, the CFPB announced ​that it had filed a complaint against a large national bank​​ for alleged ​violations of the Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA), the Truth in Savings Act (TISA) and TISA’s implementing regulation, Regulation DD,​ regarding the bank’s alleged improper interest rate practices. According to the CFPB’s complaint, the bank offered a…

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New York Attorney General Reaches $725,000 Settlement with Credit Reporting Provider to Resolve Allegations of Inaccurate Credit Reporting

On January 14, 2025, New York Attorney General Letitia ​James announced that the state had entered into a settlement​ with a national credit reporting provider​ to resolve allegations that the provider had ​harmed consumers by disseminating incorrect credit reporting information to lenders.​ According to the Attorney General, the credit reporting provider ​implemented a change to…

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