On January 3, 2018, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced that it had entered into a $15.5 million consent order with a federally-chartered savings association bank. The consent order resolves allegations that the bank violated the Electronic Fund Transfer Act (EFTA) and Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA) between 2011 and 2016. Specifically, the CFPB…
On March 28, 2018, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”) announced settlements with a bank and an affiliated lender (“Defendants”) relating to allegations of deceptive lending practices. According to the FDIC, the Defendants provided, as “debt-settlement products,” loans to borrowers who were heavily indebted, which loans had settlement fees of up…
On January 20, 2017, the Ninth Circuit affirmed a trial court ruling that ordered three tribal lending entities to comply with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) civil investigative demands. The CFPB’s investigation concerns whether small-dollar online lenders or similar persons had engaged in illegal advertising, marketing, or collection practices in…
On December 20, 2016, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced that it had entered into a consent order with a mid-Atlantic financing company over allegations that the company entered into revolving-credit agreements with consumers without providing adequate disclosures. The consent order alleged that the company violated the Electronic Fund Transfer Act…
On December 16, 2016, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced that it entered into a consent order relating to a Seattle-based payday lender and check-cashing company’s allegedly deceptive online advertisements and collection letters. The consent order alleges that the company violated sections 1031(a) and 1036(a)(1)(B) of the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 (CFPA), 12 U.S.C. §§ 5531(a), 5536(a)(1)(B),…
On July 14, 2016, the CFPB announced that it ordered a bank to pay $10 million in fines for its overdraft service practices. According to the CFPB, the bank’s telemarketing vendor used allegedly deceptive marketing and sales pitches to mislead consumers to sign up for its overdraft service without the consumers’ consent. The overdraft…
On February 11, 2016, 49 state attorney generals and the Attorney General for the District of Columbia, collectively the “State AGs,” announced a $13 million nationwide settlement with a Dallas-based money services company. The settlement agreement was the result of a multi-state investigation headed by the Consumer Protection Divisions of the respective State AGs….
On January 5, 2016, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) announced that two online payday lenders reached a settlement with the FTC to resolve charges that payday lenders illegally charged consumers undisclosed and inflated fees. As part of the settlement, each company agreed to a penalty of $2.2 million and combined waived $68 million in uncollected consumer…
On December 16, 2015, the CFPB announced a consent order and settlement with a small-dollar lender concerning its debt collection practices in 15 states. According to the consent order, the lender’s unlawful conduct allegedly included: in-person collection visits at consumers’ homes and workplaces and phone calls to supervisors, landlords, and…
On November 18, 2015, the CFPB announced that it had initiated an enforcement action against an online finance company. The company offered personal loans in amounts ranging from $100 to $1,000, which consumers applied for using an online application on the company’s website. When consumers applied for the loans, the…
On July 23, 2015, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) filed a complaint and proposed consent order in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California in connection with a settlement reached with a student loan lender that offered fee-based assistance to consumers filling out the federal government’s Free Application…
On July 7, 2015, the FTC announced that it reached two stipulated settlements (available here and here) with payday lenders who allegedly deceived customers by signing them up for loans without their permission and then withdrawing “finance” charges indefinitely. The settlements stem from allegations in a complaint filed last year that defendants “purchase consumers’ sensitive financial information from online lead generators or data…
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 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,…