Two federal judges recently said that the Education Department lacked the power to reduce or cancel federal student loans under the SAVE program; an appeals court subsequently lifted the injunction in one case....more
With federal student loans approaching $1.7 trillion, private student loans approaching $129 billion, strident consumer group advocacy, and national elections on the horizon, student loan origination and servicing continues...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
Last week, the CFPB released its twelfth annual report to Congress on college credit card agreements. The annual report is mandated by the CARD Act....more
12/27/2023
/ Annual Reports ,
CARD Act ,
Card Issuers ,
Colleges ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Consumer Lenders ,
Credit Cards ,
Department of Education ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Students
The White House signaled last week that, with the resumption of federal student loan payments, federal student loan servicers can expect to face increased scrutiny. The Department of Education issued a “Framework for Student...more
11/14/2023
/ Borrowers ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Consumer Lenders ,
Department of Education ,
Federal Student Loans ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Forbearance Agreements ,
Lenders ,
Loans ,
New Guidance ,
Student Loan Servicers Regulation ,
Student Loans
The CFPB recently released a report regarding higher education tuition payment plans that discusses prevailing practices and highlights certain CFPB concerns regarding consumer impact. The CFPB’s report was based upon (a) a...more
9/29/2023
/ Colleges ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Department of Education ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Higher Education Act ,
Payment Plans ,
Post-Secondary Institutions ,
Public Information ,
Regulation Z ,
Student Loans ,
Truth in Lending Act (TILA) ,
Tuition
On May 17, 2023, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking intended to increase transparency regarding the costs and financial outcomes of postsecondary programs. The centerpiece of the...more
The U.S. Department of Education recently announced final regulations, effective July 1, 2023, designed to expand and improve the major student loan discharge programs authorized by the Higher Education Act. Among other...more
The U.S. Department of Education recently announced proposed regulations designed to expand and improve the major student loan discharge programs authorized by the Higher Education Act. Among other things, the proposed...more
On April 19, one day before the release of a highly critical performance audit by the U.S. Government Accountability Office, the Department of Education (ED) announced a series of actions it is taking to “address[] historical...more
The U.S. Department of Education has issued a new interpretation “to revise and clarify its position on the legality of State laws and regulations that govern various aspects of the servicing of Federal student loans.” The...more
The Department of Education has announced that it has selected former CFPB Director Richard Cordray as the Chief Operating Officer of Federal Student Aid. In addition to having served as CFPB Director, Mr. Cordray formerly...more
The Department of Education announced last week that it is changing how it determines relief for borrowers who assert “borrower defense claims.” Such claims allege that the borrower was misled by his or her school or that...more
Without elaborating on its authority for doing so, the Department of Education recently announced the extension, through January 31, 2021, of certain pandemic-related benefits for federal student loan borrowers....more
At the end of last week, the Department of Education announced that Education Secretary Betsy DeVos has directed Federal Student Aid (FSA) to extend until December 31, 2020 the relief that was provided to federal student loan...more
On August 8, 2020, President Trump signed four executive orders that are designed to provide additional COVID-19 relief as talks on Capitol Hill collapsed on August 7 between White House negotiators and Democratic leaders...more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit ruled last week in Commonwealth of Pennsylvania v. Navient Corp. that the PA Attorney General could bring a parallel enforcement action against Navient, a servicer of federal...more
8/5/2020
/ Constitutional Challenges ,
Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA) ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Department of Education ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Student Loans ,
Higher Education Act ,
Misrepresentation ,
Preemption ,
State Attorneys General ,
Student Loans ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
A group of 22 state attorneys general joined by the District of Columbia AG filed a lawsuit in a California federal district court against Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos and the U.S. Department of Education (ED) seeking...more
Taking a step that undoubtedly presages further coordinated action, state officials holding the title of Student Loan Ombudsman or comparable titles sent a joint letter to Department of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos and...more
3/6/2020
/ Consumer Financial Products ,
Department of Education ,
Disability ,
Dischargeable Debts ,
Eligibility Determination ,
Federal Student Loans ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Ombudsman ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Relief Measures ,
Students
Last Monday, the CFPB announced that it had entered into a new Memorandum of Understanding with the Department of Education to replace the MOU that was terminated by the ED effective October 1, 2017. The new MOU, which is...more
2/10/2020
/ Borrowers ,
Complaint Procedures ,
Consumer Complaint Management ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Consumer Lenders ,
Department of Education ,
Director Kraninger ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Memorandum of Understanding ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Student Loans ,
Supervision
A group of 22 state Attorneys General have sent a letter to the Department of Education seeking information “to determine whether the [ED] is providing relief to thousands of former ITT Tech students as required by federal...more
11/19/2019
/ Borrowers ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Lenders ,
Consumer Loan Companies ,
Debt Relief ,
Department of Education ,
Dischargeable Debts ,
Federal Student Loans ,
Information Technology ,
State Attorneys General ,
Students
In less than a year, pre-dispute arbitration agreements will be clearly permissible again now that the Department of Education has finalized its proposal to rescind the Obama administration’s “Borrower Defense” rule issued in...more
9/16/2019
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Borrower Defense Rule ,
Class Action ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Department of Education ,
Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFEL) ,
Federal Funding ,
Final Rules ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Responsibility Standards ,
Labor Regulations ,
Pre-Dispute Arbitration ,
Student Loans ,
Title IV
In December 2018, the Department of Education announced that it would begin implementing its “borrower defense” final rule which was issued in November 2016. ...more
Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren, together with Democratic Representatives Ayanna Pressley and Katie Porter, have sent a letter to the Department of Education expressing concern about reports that the Department “is...more
In a letter sent to Senator Elizabeth Warren regarding the CFPB’s supervision of student loan servicers, CFPB Director Kathy Kraninger discussed the Bureau’s relationship with the Department of Education....more