On March 9, 2015, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Director Richard Cordray held oral arguments in the first appeal of a CFPB administrative enforcement action. Both counsel for the CFPB and Respondents PHH Mortgage Corporation and Atrium Insurance Corporation appealed to Cordray from the Administrative Law Judge’s (ALJ) Recommended Decision,…
On March 10, 2015, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) released its Arbitration Study, which concludes that arbitration agreements in contracts associated with consumer financial products constrain consumers’ ability to assert their rights if a dispute arises. The study, which the CFPB was directed to carry out under Section 1028(a)…
On March 3, 2015 CFPB Director Richard Cordray appeared before the House Committee on Financial Services to deliver testimony regarding the Bureau’s work. Director Cordray spent much of his semiannual address touting the Bureau’s efforts in the mortgage space. In his written statement, Director Cordray commented on the Bureau’s Qualified…
The Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) prohibits discrimination against applicants for credit—but what about guarantors who agree to be responsible for repayment? A federal regulation treats spousal guarantors as “applicants” who can sue under EOCA, but two federal appellate courts disagreed with each other about the question. The Supreme Court agreed on…
On March 12, 2015, the Massachusetts Division of Banks entered into a consent order with a mortgage lender following a state investigation that determined that the mortgage lender was in substantial non-compliance with applicable state and federal statutes, rules, and regulations regarding its mortgage lending and determination and documentation of…
On March 12, 2015, the Justice Department announced a settlement with a regional bank over allegations that the bank violated FIRREA by permitting an intermediary third-party payment processor to process fraudulent payments through the bank. The payment processor opened an account at the bank for the purpose of processing electronic…
On February 24, 2015, Capital One Financial Corporation disclosed in its annual SEC 10-K filing that in early 2015 it had received subpoenas related to the bank’s subprime auto financing and securitization activities from the New Jersey office of the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the New York district attorney’s…
On March 10, 2015, the Justice Department announced a settlement with a regional bank over allegations that the bank permitted a third-party payment processor to process fraudulent payments through the bank. As part of the settlement, the DOJ filed a criminal information alleging a felony violation of the Bank Secrecy…
On March 9, 2015, the New York Attorney General announced a settlement with three national credit reporting agencies. The companies allegedly failed to maintain proper procedures for ensuring the accuracy of consumer credit information in violation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act. According to one study, allegedly 26% of consumers…
On March 9, 2015, the New York Department of Financial Services (“NYDFS”) announced that it entered a consent order with a “lead generation” payday lender where the lender agreed to pay a $2.1 million penalty, provide new warnings to consumers, and cease operations in the state. Payday lending is illegal in New York. “Lead…
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…
The Arizona Attorney General announced that it filed suit against a foreclosure consulting company, alleging that the company violated the Arizona Consumer Fraud Act. The complaint claims that the company and its owners made material misrepresentations to its consumers, failed to disclose material information, failed to provide services for which…
The Missouri Attorney General Office announced that it reached an agreement with eight online payday loan operations that will force them to shut down operations in the state. The lenders operated from a Native American reservation in South Dakota, and sold short-term loans with high, illegal fees in violation of…
As the cyber security threat to the U.S. economy and national security has grown, U.S. states and businesses have taken increasing steps to prevent potential hacks from invading user privacy and U.S. intelligence activities. Most recently, New York’s attorney general, proposed new rules to help safeguard consumer privacy and provide businesses with incentives…
On March 3, 2015, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) announced a settlement with a national bank over allegations that the bank signed payment change notices in bankruptcy court without reviewing the accuracy of the documents and submitted inaccurate escrow statements. The U.S. Trustee initiated the investigation after the bank allegedly…
On February 27, 2015, the Massachusetts Division of Banks and the mortgage lender agreed to a consent order following an examination into a mortgage lender’s level of compliance with applicable Massachusetts and federal statutes. The Massachusetts Division of Banks’ examination found that the bank was in substantial non-compliance with state…
On February 25, 2015, a state bank entered into a consent order with the FDIC, relating to allegations that the bank had violated section 102(f)(4) of the Flood Disaster Protection Act of 1973, 42 U.S.C. § 4012a(f)(4), and the FDIC Rules and Regulations promulgated thereunder, by failing to notify borrowers…
On February 25, 2015, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) announced a settlement with a national bank over allegations that the bank originated and underwrote mortgage loans that did not meet applicable Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (“HUD”) requirements under the Federal Housing Administration (“FHA”) insurance program. The settlement covers…
On February 25, 2015, a national lender and securitizer of automobile loans disclosed in a SEC Filing that the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) issued a subpoena to the lender in January 2015 regarding its origination and securitization of subprime auto loans. The lender disclosed that the DOJ may initiate civil…
On April 28, 2014, the Supreme Court granted certiorari to decide whether, as held by the Eight Circuit, a borrower must file a lawsuit to exercise and preserve her TILA rescission right within three years of consummating the loan, or whether simply providing written notice of rescission is sufficient to…