Consumer Protection

A new taskforce is being commissioned by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to examine potentially viable avenues for improving and strengthening existing federal consumer financial laws and regulations.

The bureau is taking applications to join its Taskforce on Federal Consumer Financial Law, which will have a similar mission to a national commission established in 1968.

Learn more about the taskforce and its membership qualifications.

As the constitutionality question looms seemingly larger than ever over the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), financial industry advocates largely have maintained their long-held contention that the best remedy for the bureau’s controversial leadership structure is to reform it as a bipartisan commission.

The Consumer Bankers Association noted that such a structure was proposed in the original version of Dodd-Frank that passed the House with bipartisan support in 2010.

Find out what specific points the trade organization cited.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued a rule finalizing specific provisions of the agency’s May 2019 Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) under the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) regarding data collection requirements for small entities.

The rule also provides clarity regarding the applicability of partial HMDA exemption provisions not covered in previous rulemakings – namely with regard to mergers and acquisitions.

Learn more details about how the rule will impact the financial industry. 

For the third time this year, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced it has taken action against defendants involved in alleged unfair or deceptive acts or practices in offering high-interest credit to veterans and other consumers.

The circumstances of the most recent lawsuit, filed in a South Carolina district court, are strikingly similar to the two other cases against brokers whom were found to have direct business ties.

Learn more details about the similarities between the past cases and the most recent one.

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Kathy Kraninger recently announced the appointment of members to the Consumer Advisory Board, as well as the bureau’s three discretionary advisory committees – the Community Bank Advisory Council, the Credit Union Advisory Council and the Academic Research Council.

Per the planned enhancements Kraninger announced in March, the committees’ focus will shift to broad policy matters and the frequency of in-person meetings, along with a host of other changes.

Get more details about the new committee members and changes to their terms and duties.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) Supervisory Highlights report represents the second edition published during Kathy Kraninger’s tenure as CFPB director.

The report includes observations by the bureau’s examiners about issues related to automobile loan origination, credit card account management, debt collection, credit information furnishing and mortgage origination.

Read on to learn details that could help your business ensure its compliance.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) cited the largest debt collection company in the country for multiple consumer protection law violations in a complaint filed in a Maryland district court.

The lawsuit alleges various issues with the company’s practices dealing with disputes over its furnishing of consumer credit information and its debt collection practices. 

Find out more details about the allegations against the company.

Contrary to previous indications floated by her processor, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Director Kathy Kraninger has said that the bureau will continue to keep its Consumer Complaint Database publicly accessible and is planning to roll out a series of enhancements to the online website consumers use to submit complaints.

Many industry advocates have taken issue with the lack of vetting the information published in the database undergoes to ensure accuracy, fearing that companies could suffer unfair scrutiny as a result.

Find out more details about the planned database changes.

Numerous financial trade associations weighed in on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) proposed rule placing limitations on the frequency with which covered entities could contact consumers in an effort to collect debts.

The trade groups asked for clarity regarding the rule’s scope of coverage and its cap on debt collector communications, among other recommendations. More than 200 consumer advocacy groups panned the rule as being too friendly to debt collectors.

Find out more about arguments for altering the rule’s various provisions.

The House recently passed legislation seeking to prohibit companies from including forced arbitration clauses in product and service agreements.

The Forced Arbitration Injustice Repeal (FAIR) Act seems unlikely to gain support in the Senate, which voted to nullify the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s rule outlawing forced arbitration nearly two years ago.

Find out more about the bill’s chances of adoption or lack thereof.