Earlier this month, both Kentucky and Virginia enacted significant legislation related to student loan servicing. Kentucky joined the ever-growing list of states to pass legislation regulating student loan servicing activities while Virginia pared back its existing student loan servicing law.
Kentucky’s new Student Education Loan Servicing, Licensing, and Protection Act of 2022 (“KY Law”) will
On September 7, 2021, the CFPB announced that it had entered into a consent order with an education finance nonprofit (“nonprofit”) in connection with the nonprofit’s offering of income share agreements (“ISAs”). In the consent order, the CFPB asserted that ISAs are extensions of credit covered by the Consumer Financial Protection Act and the Truth in Lending Act (“TILA”) as well as TILA’s requirements with respect to “private education loans.” Because the CFPB asserts in the consent order that it views the nonprofit’s ISAs as credit, the CFPB takes the position that they are also subject to numerous other federal consumer financial protection laws that impose requirements and restrictions on student loan products. This consent order has significant implications for those in the ISA market, as it indicates how the CFPB views re-characterization for ISAs and similar products.
Continue Reading CFPB Finds that Income Share Agreements are Credit Products
On August 6, 2021, the U.S. Department of Education announced that it would extend the moratorium on federal student loan payments until January 31, 2022. According to the Department’s press release, this will be the final moratorium extension.
As we discussed back in 2020, the CARES Act provided temporary financial relief to federal student loan
One of the great ironies of the Supreme Court’s decision in Seila Law v. CFPB, in which the Supreme Court held that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) structure was unconstitutional, is that it effectively provided no relief to Seila Law, the party that took the case all the way to the Supreme Court. On remand, the Ninth Circuit held that the CFPB’s case against Seila Law could continue. Now, for the first time, a court has held that a pending CFPB enforcement action must be dismissed because of that constitutional infirmity. On March 26, 2021, a federal district court dismissed the CFPB’s action against the National Collegiate Student Loan Trusts, a series of fifteen special purpose Delaware statutory trusts that own $15 billion of private student loans (the NCSLTs or Trusts), finding that the agency lacked the authority to bring suit when it did; that its attempt to ratify its prior action came too late; and that based on its conduct, the CFPB could not benefit from equitable tolling. In doing so, the court avoided ruling on a more substantial question with greater long-term implications for the CFPB and the securitization industry—whether statutory securitization trusts are proper defendants in a CFPB action.
Continue Reading CFPB Suffers First Loss After Seila Law
We are pleased to present the Winter 2021 edition of the Mayer Brown Fair Lending Newsletter. In this edition, we discuss some of the fair housing priorities that President-elect Biden previewed during the presidential campaign, and take a look at notable developments from the past quarter. We hope you will enjoy reading.
On October 28, 2020, the CFPB’s Private Education Loan Ombudsman published its annual report on student loans, as required by the Dodd-Frank Act. Despite an increased focus on student loans by many state legislatures and regulators and some members of Congress, the report reflects a significant decline in the number of consumer complaints about student loans over the past year. The report analyzes complaints submitted by consumers about student lenders and servicers between September 2019 and August 2020. Notably, the report covers a period during which many student loan borrowers have experienced financial hardships as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and the federal government – as well as some state governments (in partnership with holders of private student loans) – has offered a myriad of loss mitigation options for eligible student loan borrowers.
Continue Reading 2020 CFPB Student Loan Ombudsman’s Report Shows Significant Trend of Declining Consumer Complaints
The Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act is ambiguous, and compliance often turns on the facts of arrangements. For that reason, settlement service providers have been asking the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau for guidance since it took responsibility for RESPA nearly 10 years ago. These calls were amplified when Section 8 of RESPA was an early
On July 15, 2020, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau filed a lawsuit against Townstone Financial, Inc., a Chicago-based mortgage lender and mortgage broker, alleging that Townstone “redlined” African-American neighborhoods in the Chicago Metropolitan Statistical Area and discouraged prospective applicants from applying to Townstone for mortgage loans on the basis of race. This marks the first
On May 14, 2020, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) filed a proposed stipulated final judgment and order (the “Order”) against Chou Team Realty, LLC (“Monster Loans”) and several related individuals and entities to resolve alleged violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (“FCRA”), the Telemarketing Sales Rule (“TSR”), and the prohibition on unfair, deceptive,
After a number of failed efforts and amid the COVID-19 national emergency, Virginia enacted a law that requires student loan servicers to obtain a license. On April 22, 2020, Virginia House Bill 10 and the identical Senate Bill 77 (collectively, the “Legislation”) were enacted into law after state representatives agreed to certain recommendations made by Virginia’s Governor earlier last month. Although eleven other states require student loan servicers to obtain a license, registration, or make a notice filing, Virginia’s new law is unique in that it could reach a much wider range of companies.
Continue Reading Virginia Enacts One of the Broadest Student Loan Servicer Licensing Laws