In 2013, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued a bulletin on indirect auto lending that took the industry by storm. As we approach the five-year anniversary of the memo’s issuance, it’s valuable to reflect on how the bulletin was received, how the auto finance industry has changed since the bulletin and subsequent CFPB actions,
2017 in Review: Three State Enforcement Trends Impacting the Auto Finance Industry
Auto lenders, like many private citizens, began 2017 curious as to what change the impending Trump administration would bring. In the landscape of government enforcement, however, the consensus amongst industry participants was that the Trump administration would bring loosened regulation for the consumer finance industry. Many industry insiders mused about the potential sea change that
CFPB Walks the Data Privacy Tightrope on Public HMDA Disclosures
In the wake of the Equifax data breach, consumers, companies, and regulators alike are cognizant of the potential exposure of personal information, and many companies are looking at ways to decrease the risk of unauthorized disclosure of personal data. In creating effective data privacy policies and procedures, companies must also analyze requirements under certain statutes
CFPB’s Debt Collection Rules May Be Coming Sooner Than Some in the Industry Anticipated
Yesterday, at the Consumer Advisory Board Meeting in Washington D.C., Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Director Richard Cordray provided an update on one of the most highly anticipated areas in the debt collection industry – the CFPB’s intentions with respect to its proposed debt collection rulemaking. The biggest news from the meeting was that the
Western Union to Pay $586 Million in Restitution and Civil Penalties for AML Compliance Failure
On January 19, 2017, Western Union Financial Services, Inc. agreed to pay civil penalties and restitution to victims of fraud totaling $586 million to resolve actions brought by the U.S. Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), Department of Justice (DOJ), and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for violations of the Bank Secrecy Act’s (BSA) anti-money
CFPB Sends Clear Message That FinTech Start-Ups Have Same Obligations as Established Companies
In a clear message to FinTech start-ups, on September 27, 2016, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ordered online lender Flurish, Inc. to pay $1.83 million in refunds and a civil penalty of $1.8 million for failing to deliver the promised benefits of its products. Flurish, a San Francisco based company doing business as LendUp,