On April 7, the FDIC issued a Financial Institution Letter (FIL-16-2022) calling on all FDIC-supervised intuitions that intend to engage in, or that are currently engaged in, any activities involving or related to crypto...more
On April 8, the acting comptroller of the currency, Michael J. Hsu, discussed many aspects of stablecoins (we previously discussed the President’s Working Group report on stablecoins and Hsu’s comments...). In his speech at...more
On March 24, Utah Governor Spencer Cox signed SB 183 into law making Utah the third state in the country to enact a Truth in Lending-like commercial financing disclosure law. Utah joins California and New York to adopt such...more
On March 30, the CFPB settled with a student loan servicer to resolve allegations that the servicer made deceptive statements to student loan borrowers and misrepresented their forgiveness and repayment options, including...more
On March 22, HUD announced the delivery of the Interagency Task Force on Property Appraisal and Valuation Equity (PAVE) Action Plan to President Biden. The PAVE Action Plan outlines actions that are intended to substantially...more
On March 31, the FTC and Illinois State Attorney General announced a settlement of charges against a large, multistate auto dealer that allegedly discriminated against black consumers and included illegal junk fees for...more
On March 18, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas issued an injunction against a Texas-based credit repair company that allegedly made false promises to remove negative information from credit reports...more
In a novel transaction for the blockchain and mortgage industries, a blockchain-focused financial services company and an investment firm announced the completion of a transaction involving the origination of digital mortgage...more
On March 22, the CFPB issued Compliance Bulletin 2022-05 regarding potentially illegal practices related to consumer reviews. The guidance states that consumer reviews impact company revenue and help consumers choose between...more
In a significant move, the CFPB announced on March 16 a revision to its supervisory operations to address discrimination outside of the traditional fair lending context, with future plans to scrutinize discriminatory conduct...more
On March 8, the FTC settled with the operators of an online stock trading platform over allegations that the operators fraudulently marketed investment-related services that they claimed would enable consumers to make...more
On March 7, a Chicago-based FinTech company filed a Complaint for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief in Los Angeles County Superior Court against the Commissioner of the California Department of Financial Protection and...more
3/14/2022
/ Borrowers ,
California ,
Class Action ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Declaratory Judgments ,
Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) ,
Fair Access to Credit ,
FinTech ,
Injunctive Relief ,
Interest Rate Caps ,
Loans ,
Local Ordinance ,
Non-Bank Lenders ,
State and Local Government ,
True Lender
On March 3, Virginia passed a new bill (HB 263) permitting banks in the Commonwealth to provide its customers with crypto custody services “so long as the bank has adequate protocols in place to effectively manage risks and...more
On February 28, the CFPB issued Bulletin 2022-4 regarding repossession of vehicles, and the potential for violations of the Dodd-Frank Act’s prohibition on engaging in unfair, deceptive, or abusive acts or practices (UDAAPs)...more
On February 28, the FTC announced that the operators of an alleged credit card interest rate reduction scam will be permanently banned from the debt relief industry as part of court orders resolving charges by the FTC and the...more
3/8/2022
/ Borrowers ,
Creditors ,
Debt Relief ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Florida ,
FTC Act ,
Scams ,
State Attorneys General ,
Telemarketing ,
UDAP ,
Unfair Trade Practices Act
On February 11, the California DFPI issued an opinion letter in response to an EWA provider’s request for a specific ruling from the DFPI about whether the company’s EWA solution is subject to licensure under the California...more
On February 23, the CFPB outlined a proposal for upcoming joint rulemaking to prevent algorithmic bias in automated home valuation models (AVMs). Here, the CFPB is specifically focused on the potential for AVMs to pose fair...more
3/8/2022
/ Appraisal ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Creditors ,
Fair Lending ,
Final Rules ,
Home Buyer ,
Homeowners ,
Mortgages ,
Property Valuation ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Rulemaking Process
In two unrelated settlements, the California DFPI and Georgia attorney general each recently settled with rent-to-own companies. In the California settlement that was announced on January 10, the DFPI settled with a Los...more
On February 23, eight federal agencies including the CFPB, FDIC, OCC, Federal Reserve Board, NCUA, HUD, DOJ, and FHFA issued an interagency statement to remind creditors of the ability under the ECOA and Regulation B to...more
On February 24, the CFPB posted a blog citing that the recent increase in car prices will result in both the total amount of debt and the average loan size to continue to increase, which will put increased pressure on some...more
Last month, the FTC issued an advisory opinion clarifying that the Holder Rule does not preempt any state laws that put more liability on banks that are the “holders” of a loan contract, and in particular, the rule does not...more
On February 15, the CFPB released Bulletin 2022-02 to reiterate the prohibition in the Electronic Fund Transfer Act (EFTA) that financial companies with government benefit contracts may not require consumers to establish an...more
On February 8, the House Financial Services Committee held a hearing titled, “Digital Assets and the Future of Finance: The President’s Working Group on Financial Markets” to consider legislative recommendations from the...more
On February 8, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California ruled against three states – California, Illinois, and New York – challenging the OCC’s rule on the “valid when made” doctrine. In 2020, the OCC...more
On February 8, the District of Columbia attorney general announced a settlement with a FinTech company for alleged violations of the District of Columbia Consumer Protection Procedures Act (CPPA) by marketing high-costs loans...more