Search Results: Enforcement

CFPB Holds Public Advisory Committees Meeting on Impact of COVID-19

On May 1, 2020, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (Bureau or CFPB) held a joint virtual meeting of its four advisory committees:  the Consumer Advisory Board, the Community Bank Advisory Council, the Credit Union Advisory Council, and the Academic Research Council.  The meeting—the Bureau’s first public event since the onset…

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CFPB Agrees that For-Cause Removal Single Director Status is Unconstitutional

As we previously reported, Selia Law LLC (Selia) filed a petition for writ of certiorari with the U.S. Supreme Court on June 28, 2019, appealing the Ninth Circuit’s ruling upholding the constitutionality of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) single directorship.  On September 17, 2019, the CFPB filed its responding…

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House Bill Proposes to Set New Framework for CFPB Regulation

On April 17, 2018, House members Sean Duffy (R-WI) and Ed Perlmutter (D-CO) co-sponsored bi-partisan legislation aimed at providing more certainty to companies subject to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) regulation.  The bill, H.R. 5534, titled the “Give Useful Information to Define Effective Compliance Act” or “GUIDE Compliance Act,”…

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CFPB Solicits Comments on CID Process

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has solicited comments to assist it to revise its current Civil Investigative Demand (CID) process.  The “Request for Information Regarding Bureau Civil Investigative Demands and Associated Processes” was published in the Federal Register on January 26, 2018. The CFPB’s power to issue CIDs is derived from…

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Senate Bill Seeks to Bestow Additional Enforcement Powers on State Attorneys General

On December 22, 2017, four Democratic Senators, Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Kamala Harris (D-CA), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), introduced a bill titled the “Accountability for Wall Street Executives Act of 2017.”  The bill amends the Revised Statutes, 12 U.S.C. § 484, to arm state attorneys general and other law enforcement…

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OCC Provides Guidance for Downgrading Banks’ CRA Ratings

On October 12, 2017, the OCC published the section of its policy and procedures manual, PPM 5000-43, entitled “Impact of Evidence of Discrimination or Other Illegal Credit Practices on Community Reinvestment Act Ratings.”  The Policy’s purpose is to provide guidance to OCC examiners in determining whether (and by how much)…

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FTC Issues Order Against Debt Relief Company for Alleged Misrepresentations

On February 27, 2017, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) entered into a stipulated order for permanent injunction and monetary judgment with defendants United Debt Counselors, LLC, a debt relief company, and its principals, banning the defendants from making misrepresentations about financial products and services and requiring the defendants to pay a $9…

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Goodwin Releases Review of Major Developments Impacting the Consumer Financial Services Industry

Goodwin, a leading Global 50 law firm, announced today the release of the 2016 Consumer Finance Year in Review, a detailed report that highlights the major litigation, enforcement and regulations that impacted the consumer finance industry in 2016. The second annual report, produced by the firm’s Financial Industry and Consumer…

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CFPB Issues Consent Order Against Equifax and Transunion for Deceptive Practices

On January 3, 2017, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) entered into consent orders with credit reporting agencies Equifax and TransUnion, requiring that they pay a total of over $17.6 million in restitution to consumers and pay an additional total money penalty of $5.5 million.  The consent orders concern the CFPB’s…

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FINRA Cracks Down on Financial Firms for Cybersecurity Deficiencies

On December 21, 2016, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) announced that it was fining 12 firms a total of $14.4 million for failing to comply with FINRA cybersecurity regulations, having identified “significant deficiencies relating to the preservation of broker-dealer and customer records in a format that prevents alteration.” FINRA…

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CFPB Issues Consent Order Against Moneytree for Deceptive Practices

On December 16, 2016, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and Moneytree, Inc., which offers payday loans and other financial services, entered into a consent order that requires Moneytree to pay approximately $255,000 in restitution to consumers and to pay an additional civil money penalty of $250,000.  The consent order concerns the CFPB’s allegations that…

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FCC Issues Enforcement Advisory Clarifying Permissible Use of Robotexts Under the TCPA

On November 18, 2016, the FCC issued an enforcement advisory clarifying its position that autodialed text messages, known as “robotexts,” are subject to the TCPA.  As we reported last year, the FCC issued a package of declaratory rulings expanding the TCPA’s scope in July 2015, and this enforcement advisory is…

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Potential CFPB Reform in the Wake of the Election

The results of the recent election have led to speculation regarding what legal changes are in store for the consumer financial services industry and the CFPB in particular.  Although President-elect Trump and other Republicans have made statements regarding “dismantling” the Dodd-Frank Act, few concrete proposals have been put forward.  In…

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CFPB Sues Credit Repair Company for Misleading Claims and Illegal Fees

On September 22, 2016, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California against a credit repair company for allegedly making misleading representations and charging illegal fees.  The case, CFPB v. Prime Marketing Holdings, LLC, No. 2:16-cv-7111 (C.D. Cal.),…

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Whalen and Swank Published in September 2016 issue of Mortgage Banking for Article: “Servicing Remains an Enforcement Target”

*Editor’s Note:  This post originally appeared on our sister blog, Consumer Finance Enforcement Watch.  Visit CFEW for more real-time reporting on the full range of public federal and state consumer finance enforcement activity.* Goodwin’s Mike Whalen, a partner in the Technology Group and co-leader of the Fintech practice; and Levi Swank, an…

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CFPB Issues Special Mortgage Servicing Report, States Intention to Use Fair Lending Laws to Target Discriminatory Loan Modification Practices

On June 22, 2016, the CFPB issued a Mortgage Servicing Supervisory Highlights Special Edition Report, and concluded that mortgage servicers may be violating the servicing rules that the CFPB enacted in January 2014, as a result of servicers’ continued reliance on ineffective technology.  In addition, the press release accompanying the…

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