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 Issues New Rule on Use of Artificial Intelligence Models in Mortgage Lending

On June 24, 2024, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced that it had approved a new rule about the use of algorithms and artificial intelligence (AI) for home appraisals and valuations. The new rule was promulgated by the CFPB, the Federal Reserve, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the National…

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Finance Lending Company's License Revoked by DFPI

On July 10, 2024, the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) announced that it would be revoking the California Financing Law license of a finance lending company based in San Francisco. The finance lending company offers loans to individuals and businesses. In April 2024, its parent company filed…

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CFPB Proposes Rule to Ban Medical Debt from Credit Reports

Earlier this month, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued a proposed rule to amend Regulation V, which implements the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), as to medical information and debt.   This proposed rule follows Director Chopra’s remarks in March 2022, concerning a report on medical billing and collection practices…

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CFPB Settles with Nonbank Mortgage Originator for $4 Million

On June 18, 2024, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced that it has filed a proposed order that would require a Florida-based nonbank mortgage loan originator to pay a $3.95 million penalty for allegedly submitting incorrect loan data to federal regulators.   In an October 2023 complaint, the CFPB accused the mortgage originator of…

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CFPB Enters into Consent Orders with Reverse Mortgage Servicers for $16.5 Million

On June 18, 2024, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) announced that it has entered into consent orders with two companies totaling $16.5 million in civil penalties and consumer redress​, resolving allegations that those companies failed to properly service reverse mortgages. The CFPB alleged both companies violated the Consumer Financial Protection Act…

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Increased Industry Attention on RESPA Section 8 Leads to Class Action Lawsuit

On April 2, 2024, a putative class action was brought against a wholesale mortgage lender alleging, among other claims, violations of Section 8(a) of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA). Unlike conventional mortgage providers that analyze the borrower’s creditworthiness and then provide the mortgage, wholesale mortgage lenders receive mortgage…

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CFPB Files Suit Against Student Loan Servicer

On May 31, 2024, the CFPB announced that it had filed suit against a Pennsylvania-based student loan servicer for engaging in allegedly unfair, deceptive and abusive acts or practices in violation of the CFPA, 12 U.S.C. §§ 5531, 5536(a)(1)(B), and for failing to establish reasonable credit reporting procedures in violation of Regulation V, 12…

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Supreme Court Upholds CFPB’s Funding Structure

On May 16, 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a significant opinion in Consumer Financial Protection Bureau v. Community Financial Services Association of America, Ltd., upholding the funding structure of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).  601 U.S. 416.  In a previous post, we reported that on October 3, 2023,…

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Massachusetts Attorney General Settles Claims Against California-Based Financing Company for $625,000

​On May 22, 2024,​ the Massachusetts Attorney General (MA AG) announced it entered into an Assurance of Discontinuance (AOD) with a California-based financing company resolving allegations of violations of the Massachusetts Consumer Protection Act.​ The MA AG alleged that the company engaged in a “rent-a-bank” scheme, whereby the company partnered with an out-of-state bank in an…

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CFPB Enters Consent Order Over Student Loan Debt Relief Services

Piggy Bank with a Graduation Cap

On May 20, 2024, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced that it had entered into a consent order with a California-based telemarketer that offered student loan debt relief services resolving allegations that the company charged illegal advance fees and misled student loan borrowers.  This telemarketer allegedly claimed to be affiliated with the Department of…

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FDIC Announces $1.775 Million Settlement with Arkansas-Based Bank and Employees

​On May 17, 2024, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) announced a settlement with an Arkansas bank and nine of its employees, resolving allegations that the bank and the employees violated Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act (FTC Act), Section 8 of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA), the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA),…

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CFPB Reports Troubling Trends in Credit Card Rewards Programs

On May 9, 2024, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued a new Issue Spotlight regarding growing problems in the credit card rewards program industry. Credit card rewards programs have become increasingly complex in recent years.  Especially for credit cards with high annual fees, a key part of attracting interest…

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Minnesota Attorney General Files Lawsuit Against Realtor and Associated Business for Predatory Contracting

On May 14, 2024, the Minnesota Attorney General announced that it had filed a lawsuit against a realtor and several companies that he owns, claiming that the Defendants used deceptive trade practices to market illegal contracts for deed, in violation of several state and federal laws, including the Truth in Lending Act (TILA), Minn….

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CFPB and European Commission Release Report Regarding “Critical” Priority Areas for Consumer Financial Protection Issues

In April 2024, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) and the Commissioner for Justice and Consumer Protection of the European Commission (European Commission) announced that three meetings had been convened with senior staff and subject matter experts to discuss “shared priority areas” of concern for consumer financial protection…

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CFPB Enters Into Consent Order With Financial Technology Company

On May 7, 2024, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced that it had entered into a consent order with a financial technology company, resolving allegations that the company committed unfair acts or practices in violation of the Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA), by failing to provide consumers who closed their accounts with timely…

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CFPB Files Complaint and Proposed Final Judgments Against Higher Education Assistance Agency and National Collegiate Student Loan Trusts

On May 6, 2024, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced that it filed a complaint ​and two proposed stipulated final judgments to resolve its claims against the National Collegiate Student Loan Trusts (the Trusts) and the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency​ d/b/a American Education Services (PHEAA). The CFPB alleges that the Trusts and PHEAA violated…

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CFPB Updates its Procedures for Determining Which Nonbanks it Can Supervise

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) recently issued a new procedural rule to streamline how it determines which nondepository institutions it has the authority to supervise.  According to the CFPB, the new rule coincides with a change in organizational structure.  But it also indicates an affirmative broadening of its regulatory reach….

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