On March 5, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (the “Bureau”) issued a Final Rule that would significantly restrict late fees that consumer credit card issuers may charge to a mere $8.
Within two days, the Final Rule faced a challenge in the Northern District of Texas by a coalition of trade groups including the United
Following closely on the heels of a Georgia law enacted in May, Connecticut and Florida have become the latest states to enact laws requiring providers of small business financing to provide disclosures to recipients—and in Connecticut’s case, to require certain commercial finance providers to register with the state. We examine the unique and interesting provisions
Providers of commercial financing should take note that Georgia has become the fifth US state to enact small business financing disclosure requirements since California started the trend in 2018. Georgia Senate Bill 90 was signed by Governor Brian Kemp on May 1, 2023, and takes effect January 1, 2024. The Georgia law applies to transactions of
Pennsylvania Attorney General Michelle Henry just announced an $11 million settlement with a rent-to-own provider resolving allegations of deceptive and predatory financing practices. The May 15, 2023, settlement, which is awaiting court approval, resolves allegations that Snap Finance LLC and its affiliates (“Snap”) disguised the nature of financing products it offered, concealed outstanding balances, engaged in deceptive collection practices, and used a web portal that allowed retailers to sign consumers up for financing without their knowledge, among other claims.Continue Reading Pennsylvania Targets Rent-to-Own Company Over Practices
The US Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has finalized its December 2022 preliminary determination that commercial finance disclosure laws recently enacted in California, New York, Utah and Virginia are not preempted by the federal Truth in Lending Act. The CFPB’s final determination confirms for a wide range of small business financers and brokers that they are
Small business financers and brokers active in New York must comply with New York’s Commercial Finance Disclosure Law (“CFDL”) by August 1, 2023, according to the new effective date the New York Department of Financial Services provided in final administrative rules on February 1.
In addition to the new effective date, the final rules include
State-chartered banks lending to Iowa residents will want to take note of an Assurance of Discontinuance entered into in December between the State of Iowa and an out-of-state bank to settle claims that the bank charged usurious rates of interest to Iowa consumers. The settlement also highlights the Iowa Attorney General’s interpretation of the state’s
Small business lenders hoping for federal intervention will be disappointed to learn that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has reached a preliminary determination that New York’s new commercial financing disclosure law is not preempted by the federal Truth in Lending Act (TILA). The CFPB’s public notice indicates that it initially takes the same view
After an almost two-year regulatory process, the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) adopted final administrative regulations to implement the state’s 2018 commercial financing disclosure law. Most importantly, the final rules come with a long-awaited effective date: December 9, 2022. The effective date honors prior DFPI statements that a six-month window for compliance
The California State Legislature provided commercial lenders with welcome news this week when the California Senate passed Senate Bill 577 (“SB 577”). If it is signed by the governor, SB 577 will reinstate the de minimis exemption from the California Financing Law (“CFL”) for lenders making a single commercial loan of $5,000 or more in