On October 21, 2021, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced that it has issued orders to collect information about the business plans and practices of multiple large technology companies operating payment systems in the United States. Notably, these orders were issued pursuant to the CFPB’s rulemaking authority under Dodd-Frank Section 1022, rather than its…
On October 22, 2021, the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced that the CFPB, Department of Justice (DOJ) and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) collectively reached a joint settlement with a national bank that resolved allegations of mortgage lending discrimination in the Memphis metropolitan area in violation of the Fair Housing Act (FHA),…
On October 19, 2021, the CFPB announced that it entered a consent order against a Florida-based financial services company, resolving claims that the company violated the Unfair, Deceptive, Abusive Acts and Practices (UDAAP) provisions of the Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA), 12 U.S.C. § 5536(a) by charging unlawful fees, and the Electronic Funds Transfer Act,…
On October 8, 2021, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) announced the filing of a complaint and proposed consent order against a reverse mortgage lender in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. In the complaint, the CFPB alleged the lender engaged in deceptive advertising practices in violation of the Consumer Financial…
On August 31, 2021, the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas issued an opinion upholding the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) Rule regulating payday lending. Community Financial Services Association of America, LTD., et al. v. CFPB, Case No. 1:18-CV-00295 (W.D. TX.) (Community v. CFPB). For background,…
On September 30, 2021, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that it reached a settlement with an auto lender, resolving allegations that the lender violated the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA). Following an investigation which began in 2019, the DOJ filed a complaint that same day in the United States District Court for the Northern…
On September 30, 2021, the Minnesota Attorney General (“Minnesota AG”) announced that a federal bankruptcy court had approved $23.6 million in student debt relief and $15.8 million in restitution for students of two for-profit universities that allegedly engaged in consumer fraud and illegal lending practices. The settlement, originally announced in March 2021, resolved allegations that the universities misled students…
On September 14, 2021, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit held that One Technologies, L.P. (One Tech) did not waive its right to compel arbitration of plaintiff’s federal claim under the Credit Repair Organizations Act (CROA), even though One Tech had previously waived its right to…
On September 29, 2021, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that it reached a settlement with a California-based auto lender, resolving allegations that the lender violated the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA). In a simultaneously-filed complaint filed in the United States District Court for the Central District of California, the DOJ…
On September 27, 2021, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced a settlement with an Atlanta-based debt collection company and its owners that would ban them from the debt collection industry. The FTC had originally filed suit in 2020, after which the court issued an ex parte temporary restraining order prohibiting the company from doing business. The complaint, filed in September 2020, alleged violations of Section 5(a)…
On September 23, 2021, the West Virginia Attorney General’s Office (AG) announced that it had filed a complaint against a New York-based debt collection agency for violations of the West Virginia Consumer Credit and Protection Act (WVCCPA) . The complaint alleges that the debt collection agency violated West Virginia law by operating without proper authorization and by using illegal, high-pressure…
On September 22, 2021, the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) announced that it issued its first enforcement action against a debt collection company for various practices, including threatening to sue consumers and garnish wages, and for submitting negative information to credit bureaus without first providing required notice, in violation…
In August 2021, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (the Federal Reserve and, collectively with the OCC and the FDIC, the Agencies) released a joint bulletin titled “Conducting Due Diligence on…
On September 20, 2021, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced that it had filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court of the Central District of California against a California-based software company and its owner. The complaint alleges that the software company violated the Telemarking Sales Rule (TSR) and Consumer Financial…
On September 20, 2021, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that it reached a settlement with the New Jersey Higher Education Student Assistance Authority (HESAA), resolving allegations that the state agency unlawfully obtained default judgments against two military servicemembers for student loan debt in violation of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA). In a…
Goodwin invites you to join us for our upcoming webinar on the NYDFS Cybersecurity Regulation. Now in its fifth year, the NYDFS Cybersecurity Regulation is a standout among state-level information security regulations. This year, the NYDFS is investing additional resources into cybersecurity, with a new NYDFS Cyber Intelligence Unit formed…
On September 8, 2021 the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced that it filed a complaint against an online lender for alleged violations of a 2016 consent order, the Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA), 12 U.S.C. §§ 5564, the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA), 15 U.S.C. §§ 1691–1691f, and Regulation B (Reg…
On September 9, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) announced that it issued a $250 million civil money penalty against a national bank for alleged deficiencies in the bank’s home lending loss mitigation program, and for purportedly failing to meet its obligations under a 2018 consent order…
On September 8, 2021, the Washington Attorney General’s Office (AG) announced that it had reached a settlement agreement with a debt collection company, resolving allegations that the company had violated the Washington Consumer Protection Act (CPA), RCW 19.86, and the Washington Collection Agency Act (CAA), RCW 19.16. The settlement concludes a lawsuit originally filed June…
On September 7, 2021, the Massachusetts Attorney General (AG) announced that it reached a settlement with a debt collection company, resolving allegations that the company engaged in unfair and deceptive debt collection practices in violation of state law. In particular, the company is alleged to have (1) initiated more than two…