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.

51 State Financial Regulatory Agencies Enter Settlement and Consent Order with Nonbank Mortgage Servicing Companies

​On January 9, 2025, 51 State Financial Regulatory Agencies (the “Agencies”) announced a coordinated consent order and settlement agreement with nonbank mor​tgage servicing companies (the “Companies”). This action came following a data breach that impacted 5.8 million customers, allegedly due to deficient cybersecurity practices, and for lack of cooperation with state regulators. The Companies are licensed as…

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CFPB Sues Consumer Reporting Agency Regarding Investigations of Consumer Disputes

On January 7, 2025, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) filed a complaint against a nationwide consumer reporting agency (“Agency”) under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (“FCRA”) and the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 (“CFPA”). The CFPB claims that the Agency inadequately reinvestigated consumer disputes that challenged the information found in consumer…

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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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California DFPI Revokes Lending License from Crypto Lender

On November 7, 2024, the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) announced that it had entered into a settlement agreement​ with a cryptocurrency lender resolving allegations that the lender violated the California Financing Law (“CFL”). This action follows an examination by the DFPI in which the Department found that the crypto lender violated the CFL by (1) failing to consider…

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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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Connecticut AG Enters Into Settlement With Banking Fraud Prevention Company

​On October 21, 2024, Connecticut Attorney General William Tong announced ​a settlement with a banking fraud prevention company (the Company), resolving allegations related to a data breach that impacted the personal information of a Connecticut Bank’s customers. ​ The Company uses behavioral analytics and machine learning to help prevent banking fraud for its…

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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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