Goodwin’s Consumer Finance Insights (CFI) monitors, reports, and analyzes the latest legal news, activity, and developments impacting the consumer finance industry. Consumer financial services companies—whether banks, fintechs, nonbank and alternative lenders, payment providers, or industry vendors or service providers, like digital advertisers and lead generators—face a constantly shifting and maturing regulatory and legal landscape. Growing from the Financial Crisis, today more than any time in history the consumer finance industry must confront a robust and growing body of industry legislation and regulation, all while under the microscope of sophisticated enforcers, like the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and state regulators and attorneys general. It is critical for in-house and outside corporate counsel, compliance departments, and business executives to stay informed and aware of these developments to navigate institutional, reputational, and legal risks. Goodwin’s CFI is a singular source of the most recent industry news and latest enforcement activity for you to leverage. Here, you will find links to original enforcement documents, enforcement activity statistics, and reports, analysis, and commentary from Goodwin’s leading Consumer Financial Services Litigation and Enforcement practitioners.

CFPB Warns Banks that Unilaterally Opening Closed Bank Accounts Could Be a Federal Law Violation

On Monday May 10, 2023, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or the Bureau) released a circular regarding the Bureau’s newest guidance that if a “financial institution unilaterally reopens [deposit] accounts to process debits or deposits, it can constitute an unfair practice under the [Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2012]…

Read More

Pennsylvania Attorney General Settles $11 Million Dollar Lawsuit with Lender

​On May 15, 2023, the Pennsylvania Attorney General (PA AG) announced ​that it reached a $11.4 million settlement with a rent-to-own lender and its affiliates. This settlement resolves a lawsuit filed by the PA AG in Pennsylvania state court in which the PA AG alleged that the lender violated state law by misrepresenting the terms of its rental-purchase agreements…

Read More

FTC Brings Action Against Two Companies Involved in Illegal Student Loan Relief Schemes

On May 8, 2023 the FTC announced that it filed complaints against two loan forgiveness and debt relief companies on April 24, 2023 alleging that they falsely claimed to be affiliated with the Department of Education. The companies allegedly told students that certain fee payments would count toward repayment programs and student…

Read More

Third Circuit Upholds Dismissal of TILA Claim Based on Failure to Itemize Annual Credit Card Renewal Notice Fees

On Tuesday, April 11, 2023, a three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a putative class action alleging that JP Morgan Chase Bank, N.A. (Chase) failed to itemize annual fees on its credit card renewal notices in violation of the…

Read More

FDIC Issues Cease and Desist Demand Against Neobank

On March 24, 2023, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) announced that it had issued an advisory letter ​to a United States-based neobank, demanding that the company immediately cease and desist and take immediate corrective action to address allegedly false and misleading statements regarding the company’s insured status under the Federal Deposit…

Read More

FCC Proposes Rules To Block Illegal Text Messages and Close the “Lead Generator Loophole”

On February 23, 2023, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) issued a Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (FNPRM) seeking public comment on proposed rules targeting unlawful text messages. If the proposed rules are adopted, they will comprise the FCC’s “first action to protect consumers from unwanted and illegal texts.” If adopted,…

Read More

CFPB Enters Into $1 Million Consent Order with Nonbank Mortgage Lender

On February 27, 2023, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced that it had entered into a consent order​​ with a mortgage lender, resolving allegations that the lender engaged in “a series of repeat offenses,” including violating a 2015 order prohibiting the lender from engaging in allegedly deceptive advertising.  According to the CFPB, the lender sent advertisements to…

Read More

CFPB Enters Into $15 Million Settlement with Auto Lender

On February 23, 2023, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced that it entered into a consent order​ with an auto lender based in Georgia.  The order resolves allegations that the lender engaged in unfair practices and predatory lending as to military families on auto title loans in violation of the Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA), 12…

Read More

Goodwin Year-In-Review Confirms 2022 Was a Regulatory Harbinger of What is in Store for The Consumer Finance Industry In 2023

Global law firm Goodwin today announced the release of its seventh annual Consumer Finance Year in Review. Produced by the firm’s Consumer Financial Services Litigation and Enforcement + Government Investigations practices, and authored by partners Anthony Alexis, Sabrina Rose-Smith, Kyle Tayman, Levi Swank, Matt Riffee, and Christina Hennecken, the in-depth…

Read More