In 2015, the consumer financial services industry continued to face increasing pressure, from regulators and government enforcement activity, and ever-more creative litigation tactics. In order to stay competitive—and to avoid government scrutiny and high-stakes consumer litigation—lenders must stay on top and ahead of changes in the law, new regulatory interpretations, and shifting legislative and enforcement priorities. Through our LenderLaw Watch and Consumer Finance Enforcement Watch blogs, Goodwin Procter’s Consumer Financial Services Litigation and Enforcement group analyzed key industry and legal developments and provided real-time reporting on a full range of federal and state consumer finance enforcement activity, keeping our clients current and informed on key legal developments and how they could impact the industry. We also continued to grow the proprietary database of information on enforcement actions undergirding the Enforcement Watch blog, allowing us to provide detailed, quantitative enforcement trend analyses.

In this year-end review, we synthesize our prior coverage of the year’s most significant developments and actions from both blogs and use our detailed industry and regulatory knowledge to offer our predictions on what the industry should expect during 2016 in several key spaces, including the mortgage, credit card, student, auto, debt collection, and payday areas. This review includes detail on litigation tactics and trends, federal and state enforcement activity, noteworthy appellate matters, and covers hot topics for online lenders and other FinTech companies.