Payday Lending

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has finalized as proposed its amendments to the 2017 small-dollar lending rule, rescinding the ability to repay provisions of the original rule and all the determinations that went along with it.

The bureau declined, however, to abandon the payments provisions of the original rule, and Director Kathy Kraninger ratified those measures in finalizing the rule.

Read on for details from the new rule as well as industry reaction.

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A payday lender accused of overcharging customers when it amortized payments for consumers has settled with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

The bureau announced it would collect $2 million of the more than $3.5 million of overcharges to 4,129 consumers over a four-year period.

Read on for details of the bureau’s enforcement action.

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Looking to provide a path forward for lenders considering small-dollar products to offer consumers, federal financial regulators recently issued principles for conducting small-dollar lending.

The principles were released by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., the Federal Reserve, the National Credit Union Administration and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.

Read on for details from the agencies’ statement and principles.

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Staff at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau reportedly is working remotely after workers earlier reported positive tests for coronavirus. But wherever staff is, they clearly are working.

The bureau announced its first enforcement action since March 9, before the pandemic began to shut down work across the country, saying it reached a settlement with Cottonwood Financial Ltd., which operates as Cash Store.

Read on for details of the bureau’s first enforcement action in three weeks.

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Federal financial regulators issued new guidance in the hopes of encouraging banks and credit unions to issue small-dollar lending options to individuals and small businesses looking for liquidity in a time of business disruption.

The statement said the agencies recognized that responsible small-dollar loans can play an important role in meeting customers’ credit needs because of temporary cash-flow imbalances, unexpected expenses, or income disruptions during periods of economic stress or disaster recoveries.

Read on for more details about the announcement, including new information about deadlines for Call Reports.

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As states across the country have reduced workforces to essential businesses, the financial services industry and its support chain have remained among the essential businesses in operation.

Trade associations representing the payday lending industry announced that they are proud to provide essential products to individuals and businesses and stand ready to provide needed liquidity in a time of business disruption.

Read on for more details from the associations’ announcement.

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The last enforcement action filed in court by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau under the leadership of Richard Cordray has been resolved.

The bureau announced a settlement in its case against bankrupt debt collector Think Finance in which the companies who reportedly operated a $133 million online loan scheme will be forced to pay $7 in civil money penalties.

The CFPB announcement was made in conjunction with a bankruptcy settlement which is expected to create a fund of as much as $39 million in consumer redress. Read on for more details. Read on »

In its 2019 Fall Unified Agenda, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) moved the needle on some long-awaited rulemaking activities. Though some were, not all those moves were in a forward direction.

The bureau plans to issue two final rules in 2020 – one regulating the payday lending industry and the other providing certain exemptions to threshold limits connected to Home Mortgage Disclosure Act requirements. The new agenda also added a pair of potentially impactful “long-term” rulemaking items.

Find out more details about the bureau’s foreseeable rulemaking plans.

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Research conducted by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to measure the average American’s financial well-being revealed that more than half of adults would struggle to cover an unexpected expense of $2,000 or more.

The CFPB included state-by-state comparisons of financial well-being scores in a report detailing its findings, as well as a breakdown of financial well-being by age.

Learn more about what the report reveals about the majority of Americans.

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Legislation introduced in the House and Senate seeks to protect all consumers from high interest rates often associated with payday and car-title loans.

The Veterans and Consumers Fair Credit Act would extend the Military Lending Act’s 36 percent APR interest rate cap on both loan types to cover all Americans. 

Find out more details about the measure.

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