Both the banking industry and conservative lawmakers are hoping that the incoming Trump administration will agree to repeal the 2010 Dodd-Frank Financial Reforms, but many in the retail world are calling on Congress to retain at least the portion of the law involving debit card transactions. [More]
consumer financial protection bureau
Equifax, TransUnion To Pay $23M For Misleading Consumers About Credit Monitoring
By 1.3.17
The nation’s three largest credit reporting agencies — TransUnion, Equifax, and Experian — not only collect consumers’ financial information to assist lenders in gauging whether or not someone is qualified for a loan, fit for a job, or can afford a place to live, they also provide people with credit-related products and resources that are meant to help them keep tabs on or improve their credit. But, according to federal regulators, Equifax and TransUnion haven’t been upfront about the costs and usefulness of these products, and now they’re on the hook for a total $23.1 million in fines and refunds. [More]
Justice Department Calls For Rehearing On Constitutionality Of Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
By 12.22.16
With only weeks to go before President-elect Trump could possibly replace the Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau with someone of his choosing, the U.S. Justice Department is asking a federal appeals court to rehear arguments in a case involving the constitutionality of the Bureau’s structure. [More]
Banks Ask Congress To Alter Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Roll Back Pro-Consumer Regulations
By 12.7.16
While virtually all federal agencies will soon see a change in leadership when President-elect Trump enters the White House, the future of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and its Director remain in question. In an effort to work around those legal concerns, the banking industry has called on Congress to legally change the structure of the CFPB, and to roll back a number of the CFPB’s recent and pending regulations on banks and lenders. [More]
21 Lawmakers Come Out To Defend The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
By 11.29.16
While most federal agencies will soon see a change in leadership and direction after President-elect Donald Trump takes office, the head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is supposed to be shielded from such sudden changes. A recent court decision put that protection — and the future of the CFPB itself — in question, but today a group of 21 federal lawmakers, along with a coalition of consumer advocates and civil rights groups, asked the court to keep the CFPB’s structure intact. [More]
Feds Warn Banks: High-Pressure Incentives Can Lead To Another Wells Fargo Fiasco
By 11.29.16
As Wells Fargo continues to dig itself out of a years-long — if not decade-long — fake account fiasco perpetrated by employees under strain from high-pressure sales goals, federal regulators are warning other financial institutions that these sorts of programs could harm consumers and possibly lead to stiff penalties. [More]
Payday Lenders Go To Court In Attempt To Keep Working With Banks
By 11.28.16
The payday lending industry claims that recent regulatory efforts to rein in short-term, high-interest loans have severely restricted their access to traditional banks. Now a trade organization representing the controversial lenders has asked for a federal court to intervene. [More]
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Challenges Ruling That Its Structure Is Unconstitutional
By 11.18.16 — Updated: 2.16.17
Last month, a split three-judge panel of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the structure of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is unconstitutional as it puts too much authority in the hands of one person. Now the CFPB is challenging that ruling, petitioning for a review of the matter by the full D.C. Circuit, in what the Bureau claims “may be the most important separation-of-powers case in a generation.” [More]
Feds Go After Pawnbroker For Misleading Costs On Auto-Title Loans
By 11.3.16
Pawnbrokers offer cash-strapped consumers an avenue to acquire quick cash in exchange for holding possession of their valuables, sometimes stepping into the world of such things as auto-title loans. One such company is now facing the ire of federal regulators for allegedly deceiving customers about the cost of its loans. [More]
Some Student Loan Borrowers Improperly Denied Payment Assistance
By 11.1.16
Each year, more than five million student loan borrowers are better able to manage their debts thanks in part to government-based loan repayment plans. But yet another report has found that not all students qualified to participate in these income-driven repayment plans are able to, though at no fault of their own. [More]
CFPB Previews Appeal Of Ruling That Its Structure Is Unconstitutional
By 10.19.16
Last week, a split federal appeals panel ruled that the structure of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is unconstitutional because the Bureau’s sole Director can not be removed from office at the whim of the President. While the CFPB has yet to appeal this decision, a filing in a separate lawsuit provides a preview of the argument the Bureau could eventually make to try to overturn the ruling. [More]
Navy Federal Credit Union Ordered To Pay $28.5M Over Bad Debt Collection Practices
By 10.11.16
Navy Federal Credit Union offers customers — current and former military servicemembers and their families — a wide range of financial products and services, including loans that must be repaid. But when those customers fell behind on those payments, federal regulators allege that NFCU illegally threatened borrowers and restricted access to their accounts. To resolve these allegations, the company must now pay $28.5 million in refunds and penalties. [More]
New Prepaid Debit Card Rules Add Protections, Improve Transparency; Take Effect Oct. 2017
By 10.5.16
Two years after the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau first proposed rules aimed at making prepaid cards safer and less costly for the 24 million unbanked consumers who make use of these sometimes costly and fee-laden financial products, the agency is releasing the final version of the rules that will kick in a year from now. [More]
Short-Term Loan Startup LendUp Ordered To Pay $3.6M Over Alleged Lending Violations
By 9.27.16
When a company promises to lend you money and rebuild your credit — all through your phone — it can be hard to pass up the offer, especially when you’re in a pinch. But what happens when that lender doesn’t deliver? It gets fined millions of dollars by the federal government, or at least that’s the case for online lender LendUp. [More]
Feds Fine TitleMax, TitleBucks Parent Company $9M Over Alleged Illegal Loan Practices
By 9.27.16
The terms and conditions for short-term, high-cost loans can often be confusing, making it difficult to decipher just how much a borrower will spend to repay an initial loan. That was apparently the case for TMX Finance, the company behind TitleMax, as federal regulators fined the company $9 million for allegedly luring consumers into costly loan renewals by presenting them with misleading information about monthly plans. [More]
Credit Repair Service Accused Of Misleading Customers, Charging Illegal Fees
By 9.23.16
It can take years, decades even, to repair one’s credit. Unfortunately, there is no quick fix, despite promises of relief from companies offering their services for a price. Today, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau sued one such company, Prime Marketing Holdings, for allegedly misleading consumers and charging illegal fees. [More]
Feds Sue Five Arizona Title Lenders For Failing To Provide Annual Percentage Rates On Ads
By 9.21.16
When taking out a loan or similar cash infusion that has to be repaid over time, it’s important — and required — that lenders provide borrowers with the annual interest rate they’ll be paying before the debt obligation is resolved. Today, federal regulators announced it sued five auto title loans companies for failing to provide that information to consumers in advertisements. [More]
Wells Fargo Ditches Sales Goals After $185M Penalty
By 9.13.16 — Updated: 9.30.16
There’s nothing like being ordered to pay $185 million in refunds and penalties to get a big bank to change some of its business practices. After its employees allegedly created millions of bogus accounts in an effort to meet sales quotas and earn bonuses, Wells Fargo is putting an end to these controversial goals. [More]
