On Wednesday, June 10, 2015, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) announced a new rule that grants the CFPB the ability to monitor nonbank companies that qualify as “larger participants of a market for automobile financing.” The CFPB simultaneously adopted a separate rule defining certain automobile leases as a “financial…
On June 9, 2015, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) announced that it provided its 2014 Annual Financial Acts Enforcement Report (the “Report”) to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) and the Federal Reserve Board. The 23-page Report, dated May 29, 2015, provided information about enforcement and related activities involving Regulation Z (Truth in…
On June 5, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced that it entered a consent order with a state bank for alleged violations of the Loan Originator Compensation Rule under the Truth-in-Lending Act (TILA) and Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010. The CFPB alleged that the bank paid loan originators based…
On June 4, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced that it had entered a consent order with a regional residential-mortgage lender over allegations that the lender paid bonuses and higher commissions to loan officers for steering consumers into mortgages with higher interest rates. The complaint, also filed on June 4, alleged that the company…
On June 5, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced that it entered into a consent order with a state mortgage bank regarding alleged violations of the Loan Originator Compensation Rule and Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA). The CFPB alleged that the bank paid loan originators based on the interest rates charged on the…
On June 4, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced that Director Richard Cordray issued a decision in the the first appeal of a CFPB administrative enforcement action. The appeal hearing was previously covered by Consumer Finance Enforcement Watch. The Director’s decision upheld in part and reversed in part an…
On May 29, 2015, the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida granted the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) and the State of Florida a final default judgment against a Florida Foreclosure Relief Company and its corporate affiliates based on the company’s failure to answer or otherwise…
On May 28, 2015, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) and the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) filed a joint complaint and proposed consent order against a national mortgage lender in the United States District Court for Northern District of California. The complaint alleges that the lender violated the Equal Credit…
The CFPB’s Request for Information On May 14, 2015, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) held a field hearing on student loans in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and issued a Request for Information (RFI) about student loan servicing practices. The RFI is in response to a Presidential Memorandum that instructed the Secretary…
On May 19, 2015, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued an announcement and released remarks prepared by Director Richard Cordray regarding a complaint filed by the CFPB against California and Maryland based online-payment services. The complaint, filed May 19 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland,…
On May 12, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) announced that it is seeking to settle claims against two cellular providers who have agreed to return $120 million in funds to wireless customers. The Bureau filed proposed orders in the United States District Courts for the District of New Jersey…
On May 11, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) announced that it filed suit in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California against the provider of a mortgage payment liaison service for allegedly misleading customers about costs associated with its bi-weekly mortgage payment program and misrepresenting…
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) settled claims with three defendants after the CFPB claimed the corporations were targeting homeowners who were struggling to make mortgage payments. The parties stipulated to final judgments for the individual defendants that were filed with the Court. The CFPB also filed a motion for default judgment as…
Last week, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a Bill that would both more permanently install two advisory boards for the CFPB and cap the Bureau’s future funding. Principally, HR 1195 — the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection Advisory Board Act — would force the Director to create three advisory…
On April 29, 2015, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Maryland Attorney General announced the filing of a complaint and proposed consent order against a regional title insurance company, its principals, and certain loan officers. The title company allegedly provided payments to loan officers in exchange for referrals for…
On April 28, 2015, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced a consent decree with a national bank regarding improper overdraft fees in violation of Regulation E, the implementing regulation of the Electronic Fund Transfer Act (“EFTA”). When a consumer does not have sufficient funds to cover a purchase or withdrawal,…
The mortgage servicing industry remains under scrutiny, as evidenced by the recent joint enforcement action against Green Tree Servicing, LLC by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). In a joint complaint filed in Minnesota, the regulators allege that Green Tree, through its collection activities…
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) announced that it and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) entered into a Proposed Consent Order with a national mortgage servicing company over allegations that its loss-mitigation activities violated the Federal Trade Commission Act (“FTCA”), the Consumer Financial Protection Act (“CFPA”), the Fair Debt Collection Practices…
On April 20, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced that it entered a Consent Order with a military payroll processor over allegations that the payroll processor applied hidden monthly fees against funds in servicemembers’ accounts, which were designated to pay creditors. The CFPB found that servicemembers usually contracted with…
On April 20, 2015, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) announced that it entered a settlement with a Kentucky-based financial services provider over claims that the company charged excessive fees for the payroll deductions of military servicemen, and that it failed to disclose these fees to consumers. The copany allegedly…