It has been an extraordinary 365 days for consumer financial services law. I cannot recall a year where so many states introduced legislation or proposed regulations or rules impacting the credit industry. At the federal level, proposed rules for the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act were (finally) released and California also proposed regulations under the California Consumer Privacy Act.
Posts published in “Federal Regulation”
The European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) went into effect on May 25, 2018, and introduced privacy concepts that were new to some U.S. businesses. Fortunately, the GDPR was developed over a period of time that allowed for thoughtful deliberation and careful drafting. The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), on the other hand, was speedily enacted under the threat of a ballot initiative.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit recently held that a collection letter offering payment options on a time-barred debt and listing “benefits” of paying the debt was not deceptive or misleading under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. Meanwhile, the CFPB is expected to take up the issue of time-barred debt disclosures early next year.
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 Consumer Financial Protection Bureau today released its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to implement the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. Years in the making, the proposed rules if adopted would bring significant changes to the form and manner of debt collector communications to consumers, credit reporting and litigation activity. Interested parties will have 90 days from publication in the Federal Register to submit comments to the rules. The rules are available here. The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking covers a wide array of material; we look at a few of the most significant proposals below. Call Frequency Cap The NPRM would…
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit recently held that the Federal Foreclosure Bar’s prohibition on nonconsensual foreclosure of assets of the Federal Housing Finance Agency preempted Nevada’s superpriority lien provision and invalidated a homeowners association foreclosure sale that purported to extinguish Freddie Mac’s interest in the property. A copy of the opinion in Berezovsky v. Bank of America is available at: Link to Opinion. In 2013, an investor purchased a home at a homeowners association foreclosure sale for $10,500 and recorded a deed in his name. The purchaser argued that Nevada’s superpriority lien provision, Nev. Rev. Stat. § 116.3116,…
The federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) recently issued its final policy regarding “no action letters.” A copy of the final policy is available at: Link to Policy. The final policy establishes a process to apply for non-binding statements from the CFPB as to whether it has any “present intention to recommend initiation of an enforcement or supervisory action against the requester with respect to a specified matter” involving “innovative financial products or services that promise substantial consumer benefit where there is substantial uncertainty whether or how specific provisions of statutes implemented or regulations issued by the [CFPB] would be…
The Federal Trade Commission has released a report examining the benefits, potential risks, and legality of the use of big data in business. Big Data: A Tool for Inclusion or Exclusion? Understanding the Issues focuses on how big data is used after it is collected and how that information could result in discrimination against consumers. The primary goal of the report is to provide businesses with important information on the relevant laws to big data analytics, as well as guidelines on how to use big data effectively while remaining compliant and non-discriminatory, according to the FTC. “Big data’s role is…
The federal banking regulators (including the CFPB) confirmed in an Oct. 1 letter that “[e]xaminers will expect supervised entities to make good faith efforts to comply with the [‘Know Before You Owe’ TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure] Rule’s requirements in a timely manner.” More specifically, “examiners will consider the institution’s implementation plan, including actions taken to update policies, procedures, and processes; its training of appropriate staff; and its handling of early technical problems or other implementation challenges.” A copy of the letter issued by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) is available here. The CFPB’s related press release is available…
Five of the federal banking regulatory agencies (FDIC, FRB, OCC, FCA, and NCUA) recently issued a joint final flood insurance rule, which among other things: Requires escrowing of flood insurance payments for non-exempt loans secured by residential improved real estate or mobile homes that are made, increased, extended or renewed on or after Jan. 1, 2016; Requires that borrowers be given the option to escrow flood insurance premiums and fees, as to residential loans extant as of Jan. 1, 2016; Clarifies that regulated lending institutions and servicers acting on their behalf are allowed to charge for lender-placed flood insurance; and States…