On April 3, the CFPB issued a policy statement explaining the legal prohibition on “abusive” conduct in consumer financial markets provided in the Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA) and provided a summary past...more
On February 23, the CFPB issued a consent order penalizing an auto finance company for allegedly violating the financial rights of military families and other consumers in providing auto title loans. The CFPB found that the...more
On February 2, the Massachusetts Attorney General announced that her office entered into an assurance of discontinuance with an auto loan provider to settle allegations of certain illegal auto loan collection practices....more
On February 3, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois issued an opinion and order dismissing with prejudice the CFPB’s complaint for violations of the ECOA against a mortgage lender and its owner...more
2/20/2023
/ Borrowers ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Creditors ,
ECOA ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fair Lending ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Mortgage Lenders ,
Mortgages ,
Non-Bank Lenders ,
Regulation B ,
UDAAP
On January 4, the Colorado Attorney General announced that his office entered into assurances of discontinuance (available...) with two credit unions that will result in $4 million being refunded to Colorado borrowers who...more
1/27/2023
/ Auto Insurance ,
Automotive Industry ,
Buyers ,
Colorado ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Credit Unions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fees ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Refunds ,
Settlement ,
State Attorneys General
On January 4, the CFPB and the New York State Office of the Attorney General filed a complaint against a prominent subprime auto lender in the Southern District of New York. The complaint alleges that the auto lender...more
On November 29, the OCC released a revised Policies and Procedures Manual relating to the assessment of civil money penalties (“CMP Matrix”), which will be effective as of January 1, 2023. The CMP Matrix is a reference guide...more
On November 22, the CFPB denied a crypto lending institution’s petition for an order modifying a pending civil investigative demand (“CID”) that the Bureau issued to the institution in December of 2021. The CFPB issued the...more
On December 1, the CFPB and a financial services company filed a stipulated proposed court order seeking the resolution of a CFPB suit alleging that the financial services company made false, misleading, and inaccurate...more
On October 18, 2022, the CFPB sued a software company that manages online payment platforms claiming that it utilized unlawful enrollment practices to cause unknowing consumers to automatically enroll in annual...more
On September 15, the FTC released a report, Bringing Dark Patterns to Light, that shows an increase in the use of sophisticated “dark pattern” design practices by retailers intended to manipulate consumers into making...more
On September 1, the FTC issued an administrative complaint and consent order alleging that a credit services company harmed consumers by making false claims of “pre-approved” credit offers, enticing many consumers to apply...more
The FTC recently published an advance notice of proposed rulemaking to discuss harms associated with the collection, processing, and selling of personal data...more
On August 9, the US District Court of Georgia ruled that the FTC had provided “broad and detailed evidence” for its allegations that a tech company and its CEO engaged in deceptive advertising and unfair fee practices in...more
On August 10, the CFPB issued a consent order against a FinTech company for a faulty algorithm utilized in its personal finance management app that caused consumer accounts to overdraft and incur overdraft penalties....more
On June 3, a federal court filing in the Southern District of Florida by an Atlanta-based FinTech company revealed that the small business lender is under DOJ investigation for alleged PPP loan approval practices. According...more
7/29/2022
/ CARES Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Financial Institutions ,
FinTech ,
Investigations ,
Loans ,
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) ,
SBA
On June 9, the CFPB filed a complaint and proposed order in California federal district court seeking final judgment against the owner of a student loan debt relief company for allegedly withdrawing more than $240,000 from...more
On June 2, the FTC was granted a federal court order permanently barring a merchant cash advance operation and its owner from engaging in further deceptive practices and granting restitution to the customers the company...more
On May 20, the California DFPI released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking seeking comment on implementing new rules to the California Consumer Financial Protection Law (CCFPL). Previously, the CCFPL expanded the DFPI’s...more
On May 24, the FTC finalized an order against an electronic payment processor and its owners for allegedly opening credit card processing accounts for fake companies on behalf of a scam company previously sued by the FTC....more
On April 29, the CFPB filed a proposed order in federal court seeking final judgment against three California-based defendants for engaging in unlawful fee-charging practices and deceptive telemarketing. According to the...more
5/16/2022
/ Advertising ,
Compliance ,
Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA) ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Debt Relief ,
Debt Settlement Services ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FTC Act ,
Marketing ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Student Loans ,
Third-Party Service Provider
On May 2, the CFPB published a blog post demonstrating its commitment to “a fair, transparent, and competitive auto lending market” by calling attention to add-on products for which auto dealers and finance companies “often...more
On April 26, the DOJ filed a federal complaint on behalf of the FTC against a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) service, a related company, and its owner for allegedly facilitating the transmission of illegal telemarketing...more
On April 21, the CFPB and New York Attorney General’s Office filed a complaint against a remittance provider alleging that the provider (i) repeatedly gave senders inaccurate information about when their remittance transfers...more
4/29/2022
/ Consent Order ,
Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA) ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Electronic Fund Transfer Act ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
New York ,
Regulation E ,
Remittance Transfer Rule ,
Repeat Violations ,
State Attorneys General
On April 15, the CFPB and FTC announced the release of a joint annual report to Congress administering the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). The annual report highlights both agencies’ efforts to protect and...more
4/22/2022
/ Annual Reports ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Debt Collection ,
Enforcement Actions ,
FDCPA ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Relief Measures ,
Small Business