In a continuation of enforcement activity related to redlining under October 2021’s Combatting Redlining Initiative, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced on May 31, 2023, that ESSA Bank & Trust has agreed to pay $3 million to settle allegations that it engaged in redlining, a discriminatory practice in which lenders fail to provide
As the regulatory scrutiny facing commercial finance providers continues to increase, many have been closely monitoring developments in state-level disclosure requirements. The New York Commercial Finance Disclosure Law (CFDL), which was originally enacted in 2020, stands out as the most comprehensive commercial disclosure law to date. And with the release of the final regulations on
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued a release on December 12, 2022, considering a proposed rule that would require nonbank financial institutions to register with the CFPB following a confirmed violation of consumer protection laws.
This proposed rule notably seeks not only registration, but also reporting by nonbank institutions, each time they are subject
The FTC issued a release on October 18, 2022, to announce that it has initiated an enforcement action in Maryland against a Washington, D.C.-area auto dealer group, Passport Automotive Group, as well as two of its executives, Everett Hellmuth and Jay Klein. In the same release, the FTC announced that Passport, Hellmuth, and Klein have
The Consumer Financial Protect Bureau (CFPB) issued a release on September 15, 2022, announcing its intent to issue additional interpretive guidance or rules to ensure “Buy Now, Pay Later” (BNPL) lenders comply with the same or similar regulations already established for credit cards following a study on the industry.
In its press release, the CFPB
On July 27, 2022, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a complaint in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania against Trident Mortgage Company LP for alleged discrimination against minority families in the greater Philadelphia area.
According to the CFPB’s press release
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued an advisory opinion on June 29, 2022, clarifying its view as to the legality under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) of “convenience fees” for optional methods of expedited payment not prescribed in the underlying loan documents, such as payment by phone or on the web. The
As we have repeatedly discussed this year in our Financial Services Perspectives blog, the current leadership of the CFPB has placed a significant emphasis upon fair lending. Seemingly once a month, or even more frequently at times, Director Rohit Chopra has announced a new initiative concerning fair lending and discrimination in the financial services industry.
On May 5, 2022, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (collectively the agencies) issued a joint notice of proposed rulemaking (the Proposed CRA Rule) that proposes changes to the way the agencies evaluate a bank’s performance under the
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued a release on May 2, 2022, announcing the release of its Supervisory Highlights outlining identified consumer protection violations during the second half of 2021. In particular, the CFPB highlighted two industries of concern in its press release: auto servicers and credit reporting companies.
As for auto servicers, the