Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)

On February 23, 2024, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau published an order establishing supervisory authority over a small-loan consumer finance company, using a Dodd-Frank Act provision that allows the Bureau to supervise certain nonbanks that it has reasonable cause to determine pose risks to consumers.

In Mayer Brown’s Legal Update, we summarize relevant aspects

On March 5, the CFPB issued a final rule that would significantly reduce late fees that may be charged on consumer credit card accounts from $30 or more to $8 in most cases. A proposed rule on this subject matter was issued February 1, 2023, and the credit card industry has paid close attention to the rulemaking process since.

The final rule amends provisions of Regulation Z, implementing the Truth in Lending Act, related to permissible penalty fees—including late fees, NSF fees, returned payment fees, etc.— that a card issuer may impose on consumers who violate the terms of a credit card account subject to the Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009 (the “CARD Act”).Continue Reading CFPB Finalizes Significant Restrictions on Credit Card Late Fees

Mayer Brown is pleased to provide the latest edition of its UDAAP Round-Up. This newsletter is designed to provide readers with a periodic resource to stay abreast of federal activities regarding the prohibition on unfair, deceptive, or abusive acts or practices in the consumer financial services space. In this edition, we cover notable policy

The CFPB’s 1071 Rule is on hold.  On October 26, 2023, the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas issued a nationwide injunction that enjoins the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) from implementing and enforcing its small business lending data collection rule (the “1071 Rule”).  The injunction stems from a lawsuit filed

On September 25, 2023, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau began its most substantial Fair Credit Reporting Act rulemaking yet with an outline of proposed changes to Regulation V, which implements FCRA, ahead of the Bureau’s Small Business Advisory Review Panel. The proposals under consideration could have a substantial impact on the data brokerage industry, if

In a joint statement released October 12, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) cautioned lenders about considering immigration status in credit decisions. Although the CFPB’s Regulation B (which implements the Equal Credit Opportunity Act—or ECOA) expressly permits creditors to consider immigration status in certain circumstances, the joint statement advises

On September 8, 2023, a federal court struck down the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) attempts to supervise institutions for so-called “unfairness discrimination.” The CFPB had previously announced the view that the statutory prohibition on unfairness encompasses a broad-based prohibition on discrimination in an update to its examination manual in March 2022, eliciting substantial objections

It has been more than five years since the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) has issued a consent order based on alleged violations of Section 8 of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (“RESPA”).  On August 17, 2023, the CFPB announced a consent order with a non-bank mortgage lender and a consent order with a real estate brokerage company—totaling nearly $2 million in combined penalties—based on allegations that the mortgage company provided things of value and the real estate brokerage company received things of value in violation of Section 8 of RESPA.  Perhaps it should come as no surprise that the activities at issue in the consent orders are promotional events and marketing services agreements, two arrangements about which the CFPB provided guidance in its Frequently Asked Questions in October 2020. Continue Reading RESPA Enforcement is Back! The CFPB Takes Aim at Marketing and Promotional Activities

In the CFPB’s new Supervisory Highlights, the agency concludes that paying individual mortgage loan originators differently for loan products that are brokered out to another lender, as compared to loans that are originated in-house, is a violation of Regulation Z’s Loan Originator Compensation Rule.

The CFPB’s Highlights describe a lender that makes certain mortgage

Last Thursday, the CFPB announced in a blog post that it is considering revising its mortgage servicing rules.  This development follows a request for information from the CFPB last fall seeking public input on, among other things, streamlined loss mitigation options.  The CFPB’s current mortgage servicing rules were promulgated in the wake of the foreclosure crisis and took effect in 2014.  Among other things, the rules create a framework for default servicing under which servicers must evaluate loss mitigation applications according to a prescribed process with deadlines and notice requirements.  The COVID-19 pandemic put this loss mitigation framework to the test as the number of borrowers who had trouble paying their mortgages skyrocketed.Continue Reading CFPB Announces Plans to Streamline Mortgage Servicing Rules