The federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) recently issued its final rule entitled “Protections for Borrowers Affected by the COVID-19 Emergency Under the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA), Regulation X.”
Posts published by “Ralph T. Wutscher”
Ralph Wutscher's practice focuses primarily on representing consumer and commercial financial services companies, including depository and non-depository mortgage lenders and servicers, as well as mortgage loan investors, financial asset buyers and sellers, loss mitigation companies, third-party debt collectors, and other financial services providers. He represents the lending and financial services industry as a litigator, and as regulatory compliance counsel. For more information, see https://mauricewutscher.com/attorneys/ralph-t-wutscher/
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) recently issued its Final Rule clarifying the “Permissible Interest on Transferred Loans.”
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) recently issued its final rule clarifying the “Permissible Interest on Loans that are Sold, Assigned, or Otherwise Transferred”.
The federal banking regulators and the CFPB recently issued an “Interagency Statement on the Use of Alternative Data in Credit Underwriting,” stating in sum that the agencies “encourage responsible use” of alternative data, especially in the context of credit underwriting.
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) both recently issued proposed rules to “fix” the potential problems arising from the ruling in Madden v. Midland Funding, LLC, 786 F.3d 246 (2nd Cir. 2015), which called into question the “valid when made” doctrine. In addition, the FDIC’s proposal would make clear that the permissible interest on a loan would be determined at the time the loan is made, regardless of subsequent events such as changes in state law or the sale or assignment of the loan. The OCC’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking is available…
The Court of Appeals of California, Second District, recently upheld a trial court’s ruling reducing the amount of a plaintiff’s attorney’s fee award in a consumer litigation action to less than 40% of the amount sought by the plaintiff’s counsel. A copy of the opinion in Morris v. Hyundai Motor America is available at: Link to Opinion. The opinion was later revised slightly and certified for publication: Link to Opinion. A car buyer sued the manufacturer of a used car she purchased under California’s Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act, Civ. Code, § 1790 et seq., for alleged defects that the manufacturer refused to…
A federal jury in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas found a mortgage lender and its president and CEO liable for almost $93 million in connection with alleged violations of the False Claims Act (FCA) and the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act of 1989 (FIRREA), before application of the trebling and per violation penalties afforded under the statutes. The alleged violations occurred in connection with the lender’s participation in the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) mortgage insurance program. A copy of the U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ) press release is available at: Link to Press…
The Federal Communications Commission recently denied the national Mortgage Bankers Association’s petition for exemption from the “prior express consent” requirement of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act for certain mortgage servicing calls and texts. A copy of the FCC’s Order denying the petition is available at: Link to FCC Order. As you may recall, the TCPA and the FCC’s implementing rules prohibit autodialed calls and texts “to wireless telephone numbers and other specified recipients except when made: (1) for an emergency purpose; (2) solely to collect a ‘debt owed to or guaranteed by the United States’; (3) with the prior express…
The federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) recently entered into a $28.5 million Consent Order with a depository institution for alleged violations of the “unfair, deceptive, or abusive” acts or practices provisions of 12 U.S.C. §§ 5531 and 5536 relating to the depository institution’s collection of its delinquent accounts. A copy of the Consent Order is available at: Link to Consent Order. Among other things, the alleged “unfair, deceptive, or abusive” acts or practices included: ▪ Threatening legal action the depository institution did not intend to take. As you may recall, it is a violation of the federal Fair Debt…
July 26, 2016 — The Annual Consumer Financial Services Conference organized by The Conference on Consumer Finance Law will be held Sept. 15-16 at Loyola University Chicago School of Law. The early registration discount ends July 30. The conference will include presentations on the latest developments in consumer financial services law, including mortgage lending and servicing, bankruptcy and debt collection. Several Maurice Wutscher attorneys will speak at the conference. Donald Maurice will discuss attorney ethics and the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and Eric Rosenkoetter will speak on state regulation of the debt buying industry. Conference attendees will also hear…
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) recently clarified “that the TCPA does not apply to calls made by or on behalf of the federal government in the conduct of official government business, except when a call made by a contractor does not comply with the government’s instructions.” A copy of the FCC’s Declaratory Ruling 16-72 is available at: Link to Declaratory Ruling. As you may recall from our prior update, Congress amended the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) in the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 to allow autodialed calls “made solely to collect a debt owed to or guaranteed by the…
The federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) recently issued its “Supervisory Highlights – Issue 12, Summer 2016” report, focusing attention on automobile origination, debt collection, mortgage origination, small dollar lending, fair lending, and remedial actions, reflecting supervisory activity generally completed between January 2016 and April 2016. The CFPB reported deficiencies in Compliance Management Systems and other software-related systems in various industries. The Bureau also emphasized the ECOA “special purpose credit programs” found at various lenders, noting that it “generally takes a favorable view of conscientious efforts that institutions may undertake to develop special purpose credit programs to promote extensions of…