On August 12, the U.S. Bankruptcy Appellate Panel for the 8th Circuit upheld a lower court’s ruling that discharged a debtor’s student loan debt owed to a state bank, finding that repayment would impose an undue hardship....more
Florida AG Ashley Moody, joined by nine other state AGs, has settled with Argosy University, a private educational institution which abruptly shut its doors in 2019. The settlement secured nearly $2.1 million in private debt...more
In Hilal K. Homaidan v. Sallie Mae, Inc., Navient Solutions, LLC, Navient Credit Finance Corporation, Case No. 20-1981 (2d Cir. 2021), the Second Circuit affirmed the opinion of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern...more
On July 15, 2021, in the Homaidan opinion, the Second Circuit joined the Fifth and Tenth Circuits in deciding that certain student loans are dischargeable in bankruptcy. These three opinions are very important for the student...more
Last week, the New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance (DOBI) announced that it was designating Raghu Kakumanu as the state’s Student Loan Ombudsman. The DOBI opted to fill the role internally, as Kakumanu currently...more
On September 15, 2020, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) announced that it had filed a proposed stipulated judgment against a Delaware statutory trust after a settlement agreement was reached between the trust...more
In response to the global COVID-19 crisis, US financial regulators at the state level are taking important actions that affect US and non-US financial institutions, other financial services providers, consumers, and the US...more
New York has been the American epicenter for the exploding coronavirus pandemic. Informed by recent systemic challenges to the financial services sector, New York's regulators have responded. Among the responses is an...more
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, Pub. L. No. 116-136 (the “CARES Act”) was signed into law on March 27, 2020. Although much has been made of the obligations imposed on student loans and the servicers of...more
As we’ve been tracking for over a year now, courts across the country have addressed the significant question of whether the federal laws governing federally owned or guaranteed student loans preempt state laws placing...more
On March 6, the Student Borrower Protection Center, Americans for Financial Reform Education Fund, the National Community Reinvestment Coalition, and the National Consumer Law Center sent a letter to the Alternative Reference...more
The New York Department of Financial Services ("DFS") has finalized the last piece of the Empire State's student loan servicer puzzle. On October 1st, the DFS issued a Student Loan Servicers Regulation (the "Regulation") that...more
The Fifth Circuit’s recent decision in Crocker v. Navient Solutions is a stark reminder to for-profit student lenders and servicers that bankruptcy caselaw continues to evolve relating to discharge. In Crocker, the Fifth...more
A new report issued by the Government Accountability Office titled, “Private Student Loans: Clarification from CFPB Could Help Ensure More Consistent opportunities and Treatment for Borrowers,” calls on the CFPB to provide...more
In a new blog post by Student Loan Ombudsman Seth Frotman, the CFPB discusses its concerns regarding how student loan servicers may be responding to borrowers seeking to make partial prepayments on their student loans and...more
We have previously written about recent regulatory focus on the student loan servicing industry. In particular, we discussed the issuance of a 151-page report issued by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) titled...more
The CFPB released its fourth Annual Report of the Student Loan Ombudsman discussing complaints received by the CFPB about private and federal student loans and the lessons drawn by the Ombudsman from those complaints. (The...more
The CFPB has announced an inquiry into student loan servicing practices. The inquiry includes a formal Request for Information from borrowers, institutions, financial service providers, and others, and call to borrowers to...more
On January 29, the federal financial regulatory agencies, in partnership with the State Liaison Committee of the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council, issued guidance for financial institutions on private...more
In this issue: - A. UDAP/UDAAP Actions - 1. Auto Lending - 2. Banking Products - 3. Credit Card Add-On Products - 4. Credit Card Advertising - 5. Credit Reporting and Monitoring...more
On January 29, federal financial regulatory agencies in partnership with the State Liaison Committee (SLC) of the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council, issued guidance for financial institutions on private...more
As a follow up to a January 2014 meeting with private student loan lenders and servicers convened by Director Cordray and Education Secretary Arne Duncan, the CFPB sent letters last week to certain “market participants”...more
On January 29, the federal financial regulatory agencies (the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the National Credit Union...more
On October 16, the CFPB released a report highlighting complaints by struggling private student loan borrowers who describe being driven into default....more
In a Form 8-K filed with the SEC on December 27, 2013, ITT Educational Services, Inc. disclosed that it has received a CFPB “early warning” letter stating that the CFPB’s Enforcement Office is considering recommending that...more