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HUD Reaches $200 Million Settlement Over Redlining Allegations
On May 26, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced that it entered into a conciliation agreement with a Wisconsin-based bank to resolve claims that, from 2008 to 2010, the bank discriminated on the basis of race and national origin by denying loans to qualified African-American and Hispanic applicants, and making few loans in majority-minority census tracts in five metropolitan areas in Illinois, Minnesota, and Wisconsin (while making loans in nearby predominantly white tracts). Among other things, the agreement requires the bank, over a three-year period, to: (i) pay nearly $10 million in the form of lower interest rate home mortgages and down payment/closing cost assistance to qualified borrowers in majority-minority census tracts in specified housing markets in Illinois, Minnesota, and Wisconsin, (ii) invest nearly $200 million in increased mortgage lending in majority-minority census tracts in these areas, (iii) provide nearly $3 million to help existing homeowners repair their properties in these predominantly minority communities, (iv) pay $1.4 million to support affirmative marketing of loans in these census tracts, and (v) open offices in certain specified majority-minority census tract areas. According to HUD, this is the largest redlining settlement that it has initiated.
DOJ Announces Plea Agreements with Five Major Banks for Manipulating Foreign Currency Exchange Markets
On May 20, the DOJ announced plea agreements with five major banks relating to manipulations of foreign currency exchange markets. Four of the banks pled guilty to felony charges of “conspiring to manipulate the price of U.S. dollars and euros exchanged in the foreign currency exchange (FX) spot market.” These four banks agreed to pay criminal fines totaling more than $2.5 billion and to a three-year period of “corporate probation,” which will be “overseen by the court and require regular reporting to authorities as well as cessation of all criminal activities.” A fifth bank pled guilty to manipulating benchmark interest rates, including LIBOR, and to violating a prior non-prosecution agreement arising out of the DOJ’s LIBOR investigation. That bank agreed to pay a $203 million criminal penalty. The DOJ emphasized that these were “parent-level guilty pleas” to felony charges and that it would continue to investigate potentially culpable individuals. The five banks also agreed to various additional fines and settlements with other regulators, including the Federal Reserve, the CFTC, NYDFS, and the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority. Combined with previous payments arising out of the FX investigations, the five banks have paid nearly $9 billion in fines and penalties.
CFPB Fines Worldwide Payment System $25 Million for Alleged Deceptive Practices
On May 19, the CFPB announced a stipulated final judgment against a California-based worldwide payment system company. According to the CFPB’s complaint, filed the same day, the defendant (i) failed to honor advertised promotional benefits; (ii) charged consumers deferred-interest fees; (iii) enrolled consumers in a credit product without their knowledge or consent; (iv) failed to remove late fees and interest charges that consumers accrued because of website failures; and (v) mishandled consumers’ billing disputes. Under the terms of the final judgment, the company will improve its disclosures regarding enrollment options and payment allocation, pay $15 million to reimburse consumers who were the victims of its practices, and pay $10 million to the CFPB’s Civil Penalty Fund.
FCC Releases Enforcement Advisory Regarding Privacy and Internet Service Providers
On May 20, the FCC released an enforcement advisory regarding the enforcement of Section 222 of the Communications Act as it relates to providers of broadband Internet access service (BIAS). The advisory bulletin indicates that, until the FCC implements new BIAS-specific privacy regulations, the Enforcement Bureau will “focus on whether broadband providers are taking reasonable, good-faith steps to comply with Section 222, rather than focusing on technical details.” Thus, “the Enforcement Bureau intends that broadband providers should employ effective privacy protections in line with their privacy policies and core tenets of basic privacy protections.”
California-Based Storage Company Agrees to Settle SCRA Claims
On May 15, a San Diego-based storage company entered into a consent order with the DOJ to settle claims that the company’s practice of auctioning off active duty servicemembers’ stored belongings violated the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA). As part of the settlement, the storage company will: (i) pay $170,000 in damages to those servicemembers whose stored belongings it sold without obtaining a court order; (ii) implement new SCRA policies and procedures, which are to be approved by the government; and (iii) ensure that those employees who are involved with the enforcement of storage liens receive government approved SCRA training annually.
CA Department of Business Oversight Files Suit Against Loan Payment Company
On May 15, the California Department of Business Oversight (DBO) announced that it filed a complaint against a debt payment company for allegedly operating in California without having the proper license and for charging fees in excess of statutory limits. According to the complaint, the company contracts with borrowers to make their mortgage, credit card, or other loan payments for them, and then debits their account every two weeks in an amount equal to one-half of the required monthly payment on the loan. This payment schedule results in 26 debits per year, equating to an extra month’s worth of payments. The company claims that the extra debits are used to pay down the principal on the loan. The lawsuit alleges, however, that the California Financial Code requires companies providing debt payment services to be licensed as “proraters” by the DBO, and the company has never had such a license. The complaint also alleges that the company’s “set up fee” of one-half of the monthly loan payment amount often far exceeded the $50 limit on origination fees imposed by state law, and that the company’s advertising misrepresented how much its customers would pay for services and how much they would save on interest. Since 2009, the company has collected more than $300 million from its 10,000-25,000 customers for distribution to creditors and earned more than $10 million in fees.
DOJ Settles with Illinois-Based Lender over Allegations of Discriminatory Lending
On May 7, the DOJ announced a consent order with an Illinois-based lender to settle allegations that the state-chartered bank engaged in a pattern of discriminatory lending, violating the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA). According to the complaint, from at least January 1, 2011 to March 9, 2014, approximately 1,500 Hispanic borrowers and 700 African-American borrowers paid higher interest rates for their motorcycle loans than white borrowers. The average victim of the bank’s discretionary dealer markup system paid over $200 more during the loan term, allegedly because of their national origin and not because of their creditworthiness. Until March 2014, the lender’s business practice was such that the motorcycle dealers submitted loan applications to the lender, allowing the dealers “subjective and unguided discretion to vary a loan’s interest rate from the price [the lender] initially set.” In March 2014, the lender adopted a new policy that compensated dealers “based on a percentage of the loan principal amount that does not vary based on the loan’s interest rate;” since the implementation of the new policy, no discrimination has been found in the loans analyzed by the United States. Neither admitting nor denying the allegations, the lender voluntarily entered into a consent order with the U.S., agreeing to provide $395,000 in monetary relief to victims of the lender’s alleged practices.
FinCEN Resolves First Enforcement Action Against Virtual Currency Exchange
On May 5, a virtual currency company and its subsidiary agreed to pay a $700,000 civil money penalty for violating multiple provisions of the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA), in which both companies acted as a money service business and seller of virtual currency without properly registering with FinCEN, as well as, failed to implement and maintain an adequate anti-money laundering (AML) program. Furthermore, according to a Statement of Facts and Violations, FinCEN also charged the subsidiary for not filing or untimely filing suspicious activity reports related to several financial transactions. In addition to the civil money penalty, terms of the agreement require both companies to, among other things, (i) engage in remedial steps to ensure future compliance with AML statutory obligations; and (ii) enhance their current internal measures for compliance with the BSA. In a separate DOJ announcement, both companies entered into a settlement agreement to resolve potential criminal charges with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Northern District of California. Under terms of the DOJ settlement, both companies agreed to forfeit a total of $450,000, which will be credited to satisfy FinCEN’s $700,000 penalty, in exchange for the government not criminally prosecuting the companies for the aforementioned conduct.
CFPB and Maryland AG Bring RESPA Enforcement Action Against Title Company and Six Individuals
On April 29, the CFPB and the Maryland Attorney General announced a joint enforcement action against a Maryland title company and six individuals for participation in a mortgage-kickback scheme in violation of RESPA and state law. According to the complaint, between 2009 and 2014, the title company allegedly provided kickbacks and marketing services to loan officers in exchange for referrals of business. Under a proposed consent order, the title company will be prohibited from committing further violations of RESPA. In addition, five of the six individuals will be banned from the mortgage industry and ordered to pay a total of $662,500 in redress and penalties, while the regulators are proceeding in litigation against the sixth individual. The enforcement action follows a January enforcement action, where the CFPB and the Maryland Attorney General announced a joint enforcement action against two banks for their participation in this particular mortgage-kickback scheme.
CFPB and FTC Announce Settlement with National Mortgage Servicing Company
On April 21, the CFPB and the FTC announced a joint enforcement action against a national mortgage servicing company, ordering the company to pay roughly $63 million in relief and penalties for allegedly mishandling home loans for borrowers who were trying to avoid foreclosure. Both regulators allege that from 2010 to 2014, the servicing company failed to honor modifications made to loans it acquired from other firms. According to the complaint, the company allegedly insisted that homeowners make the higher monthly payments and also make payments before providing loss mitigation options. Moreover, the CFPB and FTC claim the company illegally harassed borrowers who fell behind, made false threats, and revealed debts to the borrowers' employers. The servicing company will pay $48 million in relief to eligible homeowners and a $15 million civil money penalty to the CFPB.