On August 28, 2024, the CFPB issued a consumer advisory warning that many video games and “virtual worlds” increasingly resemble traditional banking and payment systems that allow the storage and exchange of billions of...more
In February 2023, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB” or the “Bureau”) announced an auto finance data pilot, where it ordered nine large auto lenders to provide information about their auto lending portfolios....more
8/27/2024
/ Automotive Industry ,
Automotive Loans ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Consumer Lenders ,
Data Collection ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Lenders ,
OMB ,
Regulatory Agenda
The Federal Trade Commission on August 14 announced a final trade regulation rule intended to fight fake reviews and testimonials by prohibiting their purchase or sale and by allowing the agency to seek civil penalties...more
8/21/2024
/ Celebrity Endorsements ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Fake Reviews ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Final Rules ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Marketing ,
Online Reviews ,
Proposed Rules ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Social Media ,
Testimonial Statements ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
Career Step LLC, an online career training company has been ordered to pay $43.5 million in cash and debt cancellation to resolve FTC charges that the company “lured consumers, specifically servicemembers and their families,...more
8/14/2024
/ Cancellation of Debt (COD) ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Debt ,
Debt Collection ,
False Advertising ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Military Service Members ,
Online Advertisements ,
Online Education ,
Redress Payments ,
Students
FirstCash, a national pawnshop chain, is asking a federal judge to confirm that it has a statutory defense to all of the CFPB’s claims that it violated the Military Lending Act (MLA) while also asking the judge to drop three...more
8/1/2024
/ Borrowers ,
Consent Order ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA) ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Consumer Lenders ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Interest Rates ,
Military Lending Act ,
Motion for Summary Judgment ,
Payday Loans ,
Regulatory Authority
The CFPB has released its Summer, 2024 Supervisory Highlights, covering issues ranging from student loan servicing to financial institution supervision of medical providers offering payment products. The report covers the...more
A new CFPB report, “Negative Equity in Auto Lending,” contains an analysis of data relating to the financing of negative equity in vehicle trade-ins. The report uses data collected by the CFPB in response to nine market...more
On June 19, 2024, the Fifth Circuit dissolved the district court’s order transferring the case challenging the CFPB’s credit card late fee rule. In granting the writ of mandamus filed by the plaintiff trade associations...more
6/20/2024
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
CARD Act ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Credit Cards ,
Debt Collection ,
Federal Funding ,
Final Rules ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Late Fees ,
Motion to Transfer ,
Preliminary Injunctions
On May 20, 2004, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) sent its annual report to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) highlighting its enforcement actions and initiatives in 2023 under the Truth in Lending Act...more
5/30/2024
/ Annual Reports ,
CARS Rule ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Consumer Leasing Act (CLA) ,
Consumer Lenders ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Electronic Fund Transfer Act ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FTC Act ,
Late Fees ,
Proposed Amendments ,
Proposed Rules ,
Regulation Z ,
Truth in Lending Act (TILA) ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
On May 17, 2024, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) filed suit against an online lending platform, alleging, among other things, the use of dark patterns to induce consumers to pay tips and donations,...more
5/30/2024
/ Borrowers ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA) ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Credit Reporting Agencies ,
Credit Reports ,
Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinTech ,
Internet Lenders ,
Lenders ,
Peer-to-Peer ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices ,
Usury
On April 4, 2024, the CFPB issued a report examining the growth of financial transactions in online video games and virtual worlds. The report, titled “Banking in Video Games and Virtual Worlds,” highlights the growth and...more
5/14/2024
/ Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Cryptoassets ,
Financial Transactions ,
Fraud ,
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) ,
Online Gaming ,
Online Marketplace ,
Personal Data ,
Risk Assessment ,
Scams ,
Video Games ,
Virtual Reality
On April 26, 2024, Plaintiffs filed their response to the CFPB’s Petition for a Panel Rehearing with the Fifth Circuit in the lawsuit challenging the CFPB’s credit card penalty fees rule (Rule). On the same date, the...more
4/30/2024
/ Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau v Community Financial Services Association of America Ltd ,
Credit Cards ,
Debt Collection ,
Final Rules ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Late Fees ,
Motion to Transfer ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
SCOTUS ,
Truth in Lending Act (TILA)
On April 17th, the CFPB issued a consent order to a for-profit training school alleging numerous violations of law related to its use if income share agreements (“ISAs”). According to the Bureau, BloomTech, Inc. (“BloomTech”)...more
4/29/2024
/ Consent Order ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) ,
Educational Institutions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Holder Rule ,
Income Share Agreements ,
Regulation Z ,
Regulatory Violations ,
Truth in Lending Act (TILA) ,
UDAAP ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
The CFPB has released the Spring 2024 edition of Supervisory Highlights. The report discusses CFPB examinations in connection with credit reporting and furnishing that were completed from April 1, 2023 through December 31,...more
On March 26, 2024, the plaintiffs in the lawsuit challenging the CFPB’s final credit card late fee rule (“Final Rule”) filed a Notice Regarding Their Emergency Motion for Injunction Pending Appeal and Administrative Stay in...more
3/28/2024
/ Appeals ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Consumer Lenders ,
Credit Cards ,
Debt Collection ,
Final Rules ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Late Fees ,
Litigation Strategies ,
Motion to Transfer ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Truth in Lending Act (TILA)
On March 20, 2024, the court forcefully denied the motion for expedited consideration of plaintiff’s preliminary injunction motion in the lawsuit challenging the Consumer Financial Bureau’s (“CFPB”) final credit card late fee...more
3/22/2024
/ Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Consumer Lenders ,
Credit Cards ,
Debt Collection ,
Final Rules ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Late Fees ,
Motion to Transfer ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Truth in Lending Act (TILA)
On March 5, 2024, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) issued its final credit card late fee rule (the “Final Rule”), which, amongst other things, significantly reduces the late fee safe harbor cap for issuers...more
3/21/2024
/ Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Credit Cards ,
Final Rules ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Late Fees ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Proposed Rules ,
Regulation Z ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Safe Harbors
On March 12, 2024, the Judicial Conference of the United States (“Judicial Conference”) announced that, in an effort to limit the ability of litigants to select judges in certain cases based on where they file lawsuits, it...more
3/21/2024
/ Assignments ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau v Community Financial Services Association of America Ltd ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Injunctive Relief ,
Judges ,
Judicial Proceedings ,
SCOTUS ,
Venue
The federal district court judge to whom the lawsuit challenging the CFPB’s final credit card late fee rule (Rule) was reassigned entered an order this week questioning whether the Fort Worth Division of the Northern District...more
3/20/2024
/ Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Consumer Lenders ,
Credit Cards ,
Debt Collection ,
Final Rules ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Late Fees ,
Motion to Transfer ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Truth in Lending Act (TILA)
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) filed an opposition brief (the “Opposition”) on Tuesday in response to a request by plaintiff trade groups to enjoin the CFPB’s final credit card late fee rule (the “Final...more
3/18/2024
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
CARD Act ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Consumer Lenders ,
Credit Cards ,
Debt Collection ,
Federal Student Loans ,
Final Rules ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Health and Essential Rights (HERO) Act ,
Late Fees ,
Motion To Enjoin ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Truth in Lending Act (TILA)
A proposed class action lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia on February 21, 2024 against TitleMax of Georgia, Inc. and TMX Finance LLC (together, “TitleMax”) accuses the Georgia-based...more
2/27/2024
/ Automotive Loans ,
Class Action ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Consumer Lenders ,
Credit Cards ,
Department of Defense (DOD) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Interest Rates ,
Loans ,
Military Lending Act ,
Military Service Members ,
Statutory Violations ,
Title Loans
Our special guest is Richard (“Rick”) Hackett, former Assistant CFPB Director responsible for auto finance regulation and presently a member of the Board of F&I Sentinel, which supports lender compliance in the auto finance...more
The CFPB recently published a notice in the Federal Register indicating that it is seeking approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for the collection of additional auto finance data pursuant to its authority...more
Our special guest is Richard (“Rick”) Hackett, former Assistant CFPB Director responsible for auto finance regulation and presently a member of the Board of F&I Sentinel, which supports lender compliance in the auto finance...more
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau highlighted its observations of the resumption of federal student loan payments by consumers after more than three years of a payment moratorium due to COVID-19 in a report released on...more