Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell has reached a $2.5 million settlement with Earnest Operations LLC, a Delaware-based student loan company....more
7/21/2025
/ Algorithms ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Bias ,
Discriminatory Lending Practices ,
Disparate Impact ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fair Lending ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Lenders ,
Machine Learning ,
Settlement ,
State Attorneys General ,
Student Loans ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
The FTC has recently taken action against two student loan debt relief companies and their owners....more
6/11/2025
/ Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Privacy Rights ,
Customer Privacy ,
Debt Collection ,
Debt Relief ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Fraud ,
Settlement ,
Student Loans ,
Telemarketing ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
The CFPB is rescinding its existing enforcement and supervision priority documents, according to a memo sent to bureau staff by CFPB Chief Legal Officer Mark Paoletta....more
4/18/2025
/ Banks ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Discriminatory Lending Practices ,
Enforcement Priorities ,
Fair Lending ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Mortgages ,
Non-Bank Lenders ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Student Loans ,
Supervisory Guidance ,
Trump Administration
The CFPB and the National Collegiate Student Loan Trusts—a group of fifteen securitization trusts that acquire, pool, and securitize student loans—have entered into a proposed final consent judgment that, if approved, would...more
1/29/2025
/ Borrowers ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA) ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Debt Collection ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Lenders ,
Securitization Standards ,
Student Loans ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
A federal judge has issued a temporary injunction against Superior Servicing and its operator Dennise Merdjanian, following FTC allegations that the company claimed to be affiliated with the Department of Education, collected...more
1/7/2025
/ Borrowers ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Department of Education ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FTC Act ,
Lenders ,
Loan Forgiveness ,
Statutory Violations ,
Student Loans ,
Telemarketing Sales Rule ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
CFPB examiners have identified a variety of illegal practices across student loan markets, the bureau said, in a special edition [add the link here] of its Supervisory Highlights. The report covers alleged violations related...more
12/23/2024
/ Borrowers ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Consumer Lenders ,
Debt Collection ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Lenders ,
Loan Servicing ,
Regulatory Violations ,
Student Loans ,
Supervisory Highlights
The CFPB’s Student Loan Ombudsman has released his annual report, again emphasizing complaint volume without investigating all complaints, suggesting that states should acquiesce when the Department of Education promulgates...more
The CFPB has taken action to permanently ban Student Loan Pro and its owner, Judith Noh, from offering consumer financial products or services....more
12/12/2024
/ Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Debt Relief ,
Debt-Relief Industry ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Bans ,
Fees ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Statutory Violations ,
Student Loans ,
Telemarketing Sales Rule ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
The CFPB has filed suit against student lender Climb Credit, Inc. and its largest shareholder 1/0 (one zero), alleging that the lender induced students to take out loans by misrepresenting the quality of the training programs...more
The CFPB has banned private dispute resolution platform Ejudicate from arbitrating disputes about consumer financial products, saying that the company had misled student borrowers about the company’s neutrality and initiated...more
10/17/2024
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitrators ,
Banks ,
Borrowers ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Student Loans ,
UDAAP ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (“CFPB”) Office of Servicemember Affairs Annual Report was released on September 24, 2024, highlighting areas of concern regarding student lending and noting that the number of...more
9/30/2024
/ Consumer Complaint System ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Consumer Lenders ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Loan Forgiveness ,
Military Service Members ,
Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) ,
Student Loans
Two federal judges recently said that the Education Department lacked the power to reduce or cancel federal student loans under the SAVE program; an appeals court subsequently lifted the injunction in one case....more
With federal student loans approaching $1.7 trillion, private student loans approaching $129 billion, strident consumer group advocacy, and national elections on the horizon, student loan origination and servicing continues...more
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau highlighted its observations of the resumption of federal student loan payments by consumers after more than three years of a payment moratorium due to COVID-19 in a report released on...more
The White House signaled last week that, with the resumption of federal student loan payments, federal student loan servicers can expect to face increased scrutiny. The Department of Education issued a “Framework for Student...more
11/14/2023
/ Borrowers ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Consumer Lenders ,
Department of Education ,
Federal Student Loans ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Forbearance Agreements ,
Lenders ,
Loans ,
New Guidance ,
Student Loan Servicers Regulation ,
Student Loans
The CFPB recently released a report regarding higher education tuition payment plans that discusses prevailing practices and highlights certain CFPB concerns regarding consumer impact. The CFPB’s report was based upon (a) a...more
9/29/2023
/ Colleges ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Department of Education ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Higher Education Act ,
Payment Plans ,
Post-Secondary Institutions ,
Public Information ,
Regulation Z ,
Student Loans ,
Truth in Lending Act (TILA) ,
Tuition
The CFPB has published a notice in the Federal Register seeking comment on its request for approval by the Office of Management and Budget of a new one-time survey of student loan borrowers. Comments must be received by...more
On May 17, 2023, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking intended to increase transparency regarding the costs and financial outcomes of postsecondary programs. The centerpiece of the...more
Third-party debt collectors, first-party creditors, and debt buyers face an ever-evolving federal and state regulatory landscape as well as ongoing private litigation. We first look at the impact of the CFPB’s most recent...more
The CFPB has issued a new bulletin (2023-01) titled “Unfair Billing and Collection Practices After Bankruptcy Discharges of Certain Student Loan Debts.” The bulletin warns servicers that they risk engaging in a UDAAP...more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit recently ruled that a plaintiff who alleged that Experian had violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act by including a discharged student loan debt on his credit report had not...more
On September 9, 2022, the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) proposed to amend its student loan servicing regulations, which we previously covered here. After reviewing public comments, on...more
The New York state legislature is currently considering a pair of companion bills which would impose detailed notice and records requirements upon student loan servicers. New York Senate bill S5136B, which was passed by the...more
In conjunction with efforts to forgive federal student debt for certain borrowers, President Biden’s Justice Department recently announced new guidance for its attorneys to use when deciding whether to recommend that a...more
On December 22, 2021, New York State Senate Bill 2767A was signed into law. The Bill establishes the Private Student Loan Refinancing Task Force (the “Task Force”), which was charged with “study[ing] and analyz[ing] ways...more