August 2015

Banks and other companies subject to the CFPB’s jurisdiction face the possibility that the CFPB could begin using its authority under Sections 1031 and 1036 of the Dodd-Frank Act (which proscribe unfair, deceptive or abusive acts or practices) to regulate cybersecurity policies and procedures.  For companies also subject to the FTC’s jurisdiction, however, the threat of FTC regulation of their cybersecurity policies and procedures is significantly more imminent in view of a recent decision of the U.S.… Continue Reading

84 House members recently wrote to the CFPB to urge it to expedite rulemaking to implement the small business lending data requirements of Dodd-Frank Section 1071.  Section 1071 amended the ECOA to require financial institutions to collect and maintain certain data in connection with credit applications made by women- or minority-owned businesses and small businesses. … Continue Reading

Many readers probably remember Edwards v. First American Financial Corp. for its ill-fated journey to the U.S. Supreme Court.  The Supreme Court had granted certiorari to decide the issue of whether a plaintiff who brings a RESPA claim has Article III standing to recover statutory damages in the absence of any actual damages caused by the alleged RESPA violation. … Continue Reading

The CFPB has issued its August 2015 complaint report, the second in its new series of monthly complaint reports.  When it announced the launch of the new reports last month, the CFPB stated that each report would spotlight a particular product and geographic location.  The August 2015 spotlights credit reporting complaints and complaints from consumers in the Los Angeles, California metro area.… Continue Reading

We have previously blogged about the comment letter concerning the CFPB’s March 10, 2015 Study on consumer arbitration that we submitted to the CFPB on behalf of the American Bankers Association, the Consumer Bankers Association and The Financial Services Roundtable. That comment letter was highly critical of the conclusions drawn by the CFPB from its own data.… Continue Reading

A new lawsuit, filed by the CFPB and the New York Department of Financial Services  (NY DFS) in a California federal court against two pension advance companies and three of the companies’ individual managers, again demonstrates the aggressive approach taken by both agencies.  The lawsuit follows a consumer advisory issued by the CFPB in March 2015 regarding “pension advance traps to avoid.”… Continue Reading

The CFPB has entered into a consent order with Springstone Financial, LLC to settle charges that the company was responsible for alleged deceptive and misleading acts and practices in connection with enrolling consumers in a financing program to pay for dental work.  The consent order requires the company to provide $700,000 in redress to consumers who paid deferred interest under the program but does not impose a civil money penalty.… Continue Reading

In October 2013, the CFPB released four “Managing Someone Else’s Money” guides for financial caregivers, particularly those who handle the finances of older Americans.  The booklets were designed for four different categories of financial caregivers: agents under powers of attorney, court-appointed guardians, trustees, and government fiduciaries, such as someone serving as a Social Security representative payee or Veterans Affairs fiduciary.… Continue Reading

In a new blog post, the CFPB tells borrowers, that in response to its solicitation of borrower “stories” about problems with student loans, it has heard “about problems related to enrolling in income-driven repayment plans that ended up costing you hundreds of dollars in unexpected payments.”  The blog post includes “some helpful advice and information” for borrowers enrolled in such plans which details the potential consequences a borrower can experience if the borrower’s recertification under such a plan “is not processed on time.” … Continue Reading

Since our last blog post about the OIG’s work plan, the work plan has been updated as of August 7, 2015 to add four new projects.  A newly added ongoing project is a “Security Control Review of the CFPB’s SQL Environment.”  (An SQL environment is a database management system.)  The OIG’s specific audit objective is to evaluate the adequacy of certain control techniques designed to protect data within the system from unauthorized access, modification, destruction, or disclosure.  … Continue Reading