In December 2024, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) finalized a rule to update regulatory exemptions of overdraft loans from lending laws. According to the Bureau, this is a major step in the CFPB’s efforts to curb junk fees. Per the CFPB, for decades, overdraft loans have not only added…
In December 2024, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (Bureau) rolled out a series of important measures aimed at addressing potential misconduct in the credit card industry, improving consumer protections, and promoting transparency and competition in the market. The Bureau’s initiatives come at a time when credit card usage is peaking…
On December 6, 2024, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced that it had filed suit against a bank subsidiary of a financial services company for allegedly disconnecting customer service calls, charging illegal ATM fees, misleading fraud victims, imposing illegal terms of service on consumers seeking to stop payments, failing to investigate account…
On December 5, 2024, the CFPB announced that it had entered into a proposed stipulated final judgment and order with a student lender and its investors, resolving allegations that the student lender had violated the Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA), the Truth in Lending Act (TILA), and Regulation Z through deceptive advertising and disclosures. In…
On December 4, 2024, the CFPB announced that it entered into a proposed stipulated judgment with a student loan servicer and its owner, resolving allegations that the student loan servicer violated the Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR) and the Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA). According to the judgment, the servicer at issue and its owner illegally…
On October 17, 2024, the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced that it had filed an action in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York against an online lender of student loans, its wholly-owned subsidiaries, and the owners and operators of those entities (collectively, the Company)…
On November 7, 2024, the CFPB announced 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…
On October 31, 2024, the CFPB announced that it had entered into a consent order with a credit union, resolving allegations that the union had ineffectively rolled out a new online banking platform that left consumers without adequate access to basic banking functions, and thereby inflicted financial harm. In May 2022, the credit union attempted to launch…
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…
On October 15, 2024 the CFPB and DOJ announced they had jointly filed a complaint and consent order against a mortgage company over allegations of racial discrimination in Birmingham, Alabama. The joint complaint alleged that the company engaged in unlawful discrimination by “redlining majority-Black and high-Black areas in Birmingham” and engaging in acts that would discourage applicants…
In September 2024, the CFPB announced the launch of a public comment process for the first application for open banking standard setter recognition, marking an important step towards establishing rules for open banking in the US. This development comes in the wake of the CFPB’s June 2024 announcement identifying five…
On October 7, 2024, alongside its Fall 2024 Supervisory Highlights, the CFPB summarized its other recent supervision activity related to illegal practices undertaken by auto lenders and auto loan servicers. Add-On Products: The CFPB examiners flagged several alleged issues in how add-on products were treated by auto-lenders. First, the CFPB found…
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…
On September 13, 2024, the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas granted in part and denied in part the defendants’ motion to dismiss in CFPB v. Colony Ridge, Case No. 4:23-cv-04729. The Court held that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and the U.S. Department of…
On September 13, 2024. the CFPB brought suit in the Western District of Pennsylvania against the nonbank offeror of a consumer credit card and its CEO alleging that the terms of the company’s credit card violated the Consumer Financial Protection Act, the Truth In Lending Act, and Regulation Z. According to the…
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…
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…
On September 11, 2024 the CFPB announced that it had entered into a consent order and stipulation with a national bank, resolving allegations that the bank repeatedly furnished inaccurate credit information, and that the bank knew of the inaccuracies for a year or more before correcting them in violation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA),…
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. …
On August 29, 2024, the CFPB announced that it had entered into a stipulation and consent order with a Florida-based mortgage lender, resolving allegations that the mortgage provider had misrepresented the payment terms of cash-out mortgage refinance loans it offered to servicemembers and veterans. In its consent order, the CFPB alleged that the mortgage lender committed deceptive acts or…