Search Results: Enforcement

Massachusetts Attorney General Has Now Recovered More Than $12 Million In Connection With Its Subprime Auto Lending Investigation

This time last year, LLW reported on the Department of Justice going after subprime auto lenders, and more recently we have reported on the CFPB’s targeting of subprime auto lenders.  But Massachusetts has also gotten in on the regulatory action.  On March 16, 2016, the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office (MAG) announced that American Credit…

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Hefferon Serves As Co-Chair and Panelist for ACI's 24th National Conference on Consumer Finance Class Actions & Litigation Conference – January 26-27, 2016

Thomas Hefferon, chair of Goodwin Procter’s Consumer Financial Services Litigation Practice, will serve as a conference co-chair and speak on a panel regarding the CFPB’s increasing regulation of the consumer finance industry titled “Evaluating the Lessons Learned from Recent CFPB Enforcement Actions, Regulation of Arbitration Agreements in Consumer Credit Contracts,…

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2Q 2015 Sees Increase in Enforcement Litigation

*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.* For the second quarter of 2015, Consumer Finance Enforcement Watch tracked 56 enforcement actions taken against consumer finance providers,…

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No Summer Vacation for Student Lending Companies as Enforcement Activity Continues

Student lending continues to remain in the crosshairs of federal and state consumer finance regulators during the summer months, with over five enforcement actions and investigations in recent weeks.  As covered in both LenderLaw Watch (LLW) and Consumer Finance Enforcement Watch (CFEW), this is a small part of a larger…

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The CFPB Targets Lender's Credit Card Division With More Than $200MM In Penalties

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has set its sights on debt collection practices again.  In April, we wrote about the CFPB’s $63 million settlement with a mortgage servicer, Green Tree Mortgage, in part for Green Tree’s alleged treatment of mortgage debt.  On July 8, 2015, the CFPB once again demonstrated it was…

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HUD Obtains $200 Million in Community Investment to Resolve Redlining Allegations against Midwest Mortgage Lender

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) reached a settlement agreement with Associated Bank concerning allegations that the Bank violated Section 804(b) of the Fair Housing Act.  According to the conciliation agreement, HUD alleged that the Bank disproportionately denied loan applications of African-American and Hispanic applicants, and under-served…

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Goodwin’s Consumer Finance Enforcement Practice Launches Industry’s First Enforcement Tracking Blog

Goodwin Procter’s Consumer Financial Services Enforcement practice today launched Consumer Finance Enforcement Watch, a first-of-its-kind tracking blog to monitor state and federal consumer finance enforcement actions. The blog provides real-time reporting of publicly available enforcement activity taken against consumer financial service companies in key areas, including: mortgage lending and servicing;…

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Mortgage Servicer Agrees to Pay More Than $60 million for Alleged “Abusive” Collection Practices

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…

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DOJ Settles Another FHA Mortgage Investigation

On February 25, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that it had reached a settlement with MetLife Home Loans LLC concerning its investigation into MetLife’s origination and underwriting practices of loans insured by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Federal Housing Administration (FHA loans).  As part of…

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CFPB Orders Lender To Reduce Student Loan Principal Balances By $480 Million

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) recently announced that it had reached an agreement to give students of Corinthian College, Inc. at least $480 million in principal reductions on existing student debt. Former and current students will receive an immediate 40% reduction on existing principal balances of their loans with…

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HUD’s New Year Resolution? More Enforcement Actions Against FHA Lenders

Recent indications from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), HUD’s Office of Inspector General (OIG), and quarterly SEC filings by lenders of FHA mortgages, strongly suggest that HUD’s aggressive enforcement actions against FHA lenders over the past few years are likely to continue in the New Year.  Lenders…

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CFPB to Lender: Bonuses Indirectly Tied To Loan Interest Rates Are Compensation

According to the CFPB, Franklin Loan Corporation paid its loan officers $730,000 in quarterly bonuses over 26 months – but the bonuses were allegedly based in part on the interest rates on loans, thus violating the Loan Originator Compensation Rule in Regulation Z.  As a result, the CFPB entered into a…

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Dodd-Frank's Deputy Enforcers - States!

No readers of this blog would disagree that the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act transformed the legal landscape for banks and consumer finance companies.  In the area of enforcement, two of the Act’s most significant changes were (1) the creation of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and…

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CFPB Takes Action to Enforce New Mortgage Servicing Rules

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has entered a consent order with a mortgage bank following CFPB’s allegations that the bank violated the new mortgage servicing rules.  CFPB claimed that the bank: ​took an unreasonably long time to process borrowers’ applications for loan modifications or other foreclosure relief; failed to…

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CFPB Sues Another Company for Alleged Deceptive Student Lending Practices

On September 16, the CFPB filed suit against Corinthian Colleges, Inc. in the Northern District of Illinois for engaging in alleged predatory student lending.  This is the CFPB’s second predatory student lending suit against a for-profit college; the first being against ITT (reported by LenderLaw Watch here). The allegations and relief…

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Interagency Guidance: Regulators Will Enforce UDAAP Laws Notwithstanding Repeal of Regulation AA

The Federal Reserve Board recently made headlines when it repealed its Regulation AA to comply with the Dodd-Frank Act, leading some to wonder how, and to what extent, regulation of financial institutions might change going forward. But the federal agencies charged with regulating banking and credit activities have made it clear that they will continue to enforce prohibitions…

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Mobile Banking in the 21st Century: More Freedom for Consumers, More Red Tape for Financial ...

On June 11, as a result of the growing use of mobile banking services across the country, the CFPB announced that it was conducting a request for information into the benefits and consequences of expanding mobile financial services.  Its focus is underserved and remote communities, but any actions the CFPB…

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CFPB Targets NonBank Compliance Plans

On May 22, the CFPB released its fourth “Supervisory Highlights” publication, giving financial services providers a preview of the CFPB’s future enforcement priorities. This edition drew attention to regulatory compliance in nonbank financial entities like debt collectors, payday lenders, and consumer credit reporting firms. While those industries have been subject…

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