On February 23, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) released an order, dated November 30, 2023, establishing supervisory authority over installment lender World Acceptance Corp. The CFPB found that it...more
We are pleased to share our annual review of regulatory and legal developments in the consumer financial services industry. With active federal and state legislatures, consumer financial services providers faced a challenging...more
2/1/2024
/ Automotive Loans ,
Banks ,
Class Action ,
Consumer Bankruptcy ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Debt Collection ,
Digital Assets ,
Fair Lending ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinTech ,
Mortgages ,
Student Loans ,
Tribal Loans ,
Uniform Commercial Code (UCC)
Last week, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) issued a proposed rule with request for public comment to prohibit covered financial institutions from charging nonsufficient funds fees (NSF) for payment...more
1/29/2024
/ Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA) ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Insufficient Funds ,
Overdraft Fees ,
Popular ,
Proposed Rules ,
Regulation Z ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Truth in Lending Act (TILA)
Late last month, the Revenue Based Finance Coalition (RBFC), a trade group of sales-based financing providers, filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida challenging the Consumer...more
1/18/2024
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Consumer Protection Act ,
Data Collection ,
Dodd-Frank ,
ECOA ,
Final Rules ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Section 1071
On January 10, HB 254, entitled the True Lender Act, was introduced before the Maryland House of Delegates. The Act would amend the Maryland Commercial Law to add an article containing both predominant economic interest and...more
On January 2, New York Governor Kathy Hochul unveiled her 2024 consumer protection agenda, which includes plans to regulate the “buy now, pay later” (BNPL) industry. Specifically, Governor Hochul plans to propose legislation...more
Washington now joins the list of states that have enacted or proposed legislation adopting so-called anti-evasion provisions, including legislation passed in Minnesota, Connecticut, Nebraska, and proposed in Florida. On...more
12/22/2023
/ Banks ,
Consumer Financial Contracts ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Lenders ,
Loans ,
Membership Agreements ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
True Lender ,
Washington
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) released its 14th annual report to Congress in fulfillment of its requirements under the Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure (CARD) Act. For the...more
12/21/2023
/ CARD Act ,
Colleges ,
Consumer Financial Contracts ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Consumer Lenders ,
Credit Cards ,
Educational Institutions ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Late Fees ,
New Regulations ,
Students ,
Universities
This week, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) issued guidance to banks on managing the risks associated with “buy now, pay later” (BNPL) lending. Specifically, the bulletin addresses BNPL loans that are...more
On October 9, a Florida state senator introduced SB 146, which would add a new section to the Florida Consumer Finance Act (CFA), attempting to curb evasion of the CFA. SB 146 would treat all payments incident to the loan as...more
A California state court recently denied a preliminary injunction sought by the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (the DFPI) in its long-running litigation against Opportunity Financial (OppFi)...more
11/14/2023
/ California ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
FDIC ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Interest Rates ,
Loans ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
True Lender ,
Usury
On October 13, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law Senate Bill 666, which amends the California Financing Law to prohibit a covered entity from charging certain fees in connection with a commercial financing...more
11/10/2023
/ California ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Covered Entities ,
Depository Institutions ,
Due Diligence ,
Fees ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Financial Transactions ,
Lending ,
New Legislation ,
Payment Processors ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Small Business ,
UDAAP
On October 19, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued its highly anticipated notice of proposed rulemaking under Section 1033 of the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 (CFPA). The proposed Personal...more
10/26/2023
/ Comment Period ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA) ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Data Privacy ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) ,
Open Banking ,
Personal Data ,
Proposed Rules ,
Regulation E ,
Regulation Z
Last week, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) (collectively, the agencies) issued a joint statement on the subject of creditors’ use of immigration status for eligibility...more
10/16/2023
/ Consumer Credit Protection Act (CCPA) ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Credit Applicants ,
Credit History ,
Creditors ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Discriminatory Lending Practices ,
ECOA ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Immigration ,
Immigration Status Discrimination ,
Joint Statements ,
Lenders ,
Loans ,
Regulation B
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has started the process of issuing rules on several topics affecting the entire ecosystem that collects, sells, and uses data about consumers, according to an Outline of the...more
9/22/2023
/ Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Consumer Reporting Agencies ,
Data Brokers ,
Data Privacy ,
Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Proposed Rules ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Rulemaking Process ,
SBREFA
As discussed here, on July 7th the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the U.S. Department of Treasury (collectively, the agencies) jointly issued a Request for...more
On September 8, a federal court in the Eastern District of Texas granted summary judgment in favor of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce (Chamber) and several other trade associations, holding that the Consumer Financial Protection...more
9/12/2023
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau v Community Financial Services Association of America Ltd ,
Discriminatory Lending Practices ,
Dodd-Frank ,
ECOA ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Regulatory Agencies ,
Regulatory Authority ,
SCOTUS ,
UDAAP
Earlier this month, the California Department of Financial Regulation and Innovation (CA DFPI) announced a new rule expanding the definition of unfair, deceptive and abusive acts and practices (UDAAP) to commercial financing....more
As discussed here, on April 26, the Texas Bankers Association, the American Bankers Association (ABA), and Rio Bank, McAllen, Texas (Rio Bank) filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas...more
8/1/2023
/ American Bar Association (ABA) ,
CFPB v Community Financial Services Association of America ,
Community Financial Services Association ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Dodd-Frank ,
ECOA ,
Federal Funding ,
Final Rules ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Injunctive Relief ,
SCOTUS ,
Section 1071
On June 6, Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen signed into law Legislative Bill 92, which, among many other subjects, amends the Nebraska Installment Loan Act (the NILA). Previously, a license was required for a lender seeking to...more
On July 27, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) released a new blog post, positing that cashflow data, broadly defined as the various inflows, outflows, and accumulated amounts in a consumer’s checking and savings...more
7/31/2023
/ Checking Accounts ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Credit ,
Credit Scores ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Lenders ,
Loan Repayment Issues ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Savings Accounts ,
Self-Reporting ,
Underwriting
On June 29, Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont signed SB 1033, An Act Concerning Various Revisions to the Banking Statutes, into law. As discussed here, with this bill, Connecticut joins several other states that have set strict...more
7/14/2023
/ Banks ,
Capital Requirements ,
Connecticut ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Financing ,
Income Share Agreements ,
Military Lending Act ,
New Legislation ,
Refunds ,
Small Loans
As shown by a new report, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) is focusing its fair lending work on mortgage origination and pricing, small business lending, redlining, and the use of artificial...more
7/10/2023
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
ECOA ,
Fair Lending ,
Financial Services Industry ,
HMDA ,
Mortgage Lenders ,
Mortgage Loan Originators ,
Mortgages ,
NCUA ,
Redlining
On June 28, Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont signed into law Senate Bill 1032 entitled An Act Requiring Certain Financing Disclosures, which requires certain providers of commercial financing to make various disclosures and...more
7/10/2023
/ Banks ,
Connecticut ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Financial Transactions ,
Financing ,
New Legislation ,
Regulatory Requirements
On June 26, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed the Florida Commercial Financing Disclosure Law (FCFDL). As discussed here, the FCFDL mandates that covered commercial financing companies provide consumer-like disclosures for...more