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  • CFPB Succession: Bureau dismantles Office for Students; no longer plans student loan regulations; and more

    Federal Issues

    On May 9, according to multiple reports, the CFPB internally announced that the Bureau would eliminate the Office of Students & Younger Consumers and move its staff into the Office of Financial Education as part of acting Director Mulvaney’s agency reorganization. The Bureau will continue to have a Student Loan Ombudsman position, which is required by the Dodd-Frank Act. It is also reported that the Bureau intends to create a new “Office of Cost Benefit Analysis” and rename certain existing offices. As previously covered by InfoBytes, acting Director Mulvaney plans to move the Office of Fair Lending and Equal Opportunity from the Division of Supervision, Enforcement and Fair Lending to the Office of the Director, in order to focus on “advocacy, coordination and education.”  Day-to-day responsibility for enforcement and supervision oversight will remain in the renamed Division of Supervision and Enforcement (SE).

    The Office of Management Budget (OMB) released the CFPB’s Spring 2018 rulemaking agenda, which no longer includes “Student Loan Servicing” as a Long-Term Action. In previous agendas, the Bureau described its plan for Student Loan Servicing as “The CFPB will continue to monitor the student loan servicing market for trends and developments.  As this work continues, the Bureau will evaluate possible policy responses, including potential rulemaking.  Possible topics for consideration might include specific acts or practices and consumer disclosures.” In addition to dropping Student Loan Servicing, the Spring 2018 agenda also no longer lists plans for Supervision of Larger Participants in Markets for Personal Loans, Overdraft Services, or Submission of Credit Card Agreements under TILA (more information on the CFPB’s previous plans for these rules can be found here).

    As expected, the Spring 2018 agenda also included two new additions to the Proposed Rule Stage:

    • HMDA. The Bureau has previously announced it intends to engage in a broader rulemaking to (i) re-examine the criteria determining whether institutions are required to report data; (ii) adjust the requirements related to reporting certain types of transactions; and (iii) re-evaluate the required reporting of additional information beyond the data points required by the Dodd-Frank Act (InfoBytes coverage here). The Bureau indicates it expects a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) on any changes to the HMDA rule before 2019. 
    • Payday, Vehicle Title, and Certain High-Cost Installment Loans. In January, the Bureau announced the intention to reconsider the 2017 payday rule (covered by InfoBytes here). The OMB agenda indicates the Bureau expects a NPRM by February 2019.

    Notably, the CFPB continues to include “Debt Collection Rule” in a Proposed Rule Stage, as it has in previous agenda iterations. However, the Bureau has extended the deadline for its NPRM to February 2019.

      

    Federal Issues CFPB Succession Student Lending CFPB Overdraft Debt Collection Payday Lending HMDA

  • Judge says overdraft fees are not usurious, removes claim from lawsuit

    Courts

    On February 28, the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina dismissed a complaint from a consolidated class action against a national bank, which alleged that the bank’s $20 overdraft fee is an interest charge on credit and therefore exceeds usury limits under the National Bank Act (NBA). The plaintiffs in the consolidated class action challenged the bank’s methods for assessing overdraft fees, posting debit transactions, and assessing “sustained” overdraft fees, claiming they violated federal law. In granting the dismissal, the court noted that it had previously rejected a materially identical usury claim in December 2015 and that no new evidence or authority had been brought to light that would change its decision. In addition, the court concluded that “the law is still clear that sustained overdraft fees are not interest, and that assessing such fees cannot violate the usury provision of the NBA.” 

    Courts Usury Overdraft National Bank Act Class Action

  • Buckley Sandler Insights: OMB releases updated and possibly outdated CFPB rulemaking agenda

    Agency Rule-Making & Guidance

    OMB has released the CFPB’s Fall 2017 rulemaking agenda. Although this is the first update to the agenda since Richard Cordray left the agency in November 2017, delays in the publication of rulemaking agendas are common so the updated agenda may not reflect the views of new CFPB leadership. The updated agenda does not appear on the Bureau’s website. Further:

    • HMDA & ECOA Amendments: The updated agenda states that the Bureau planned to determine by December 2018 whether to make permanent adjustments to the threshold for reporting open-end lines of credit. However, as discussed in greater detail here, the CFPB stated on December 21 that it intended to engage in a broader rulemaking to (i) re-examine the criteria determining whether institutions are required to report data; (ii) adjust the requirements related to reporting certain types of transactions; and (iii) re-evaluate the required reporting of additional information beyond the data points required by the Dodd-Frank Act.
    • Prepaid Cards: The updated agenda states that the CFPB expected to finalize amendments to its rule on prepaid cards in November 2017, but no final amendments have been issued. Instead, on December 21, the CFPB announced its intent to adopt final amendments “soon after the new year” and stated that it expects to extend the April 1, 2018 effective date to allow more time for implementation.
    • Debt Collection: The updated agenda states that the CFPB expects to issue a proposed rule in February 2018 “concerning FDCPA collectors’ communications practices and consumer disclosures.” However, on December 14, OMB announced that the CFPB had withdrawn its planned survey regarding debt collection disclosures because “Bureau leadership would like to reconsider the information collection in connection with its review of the ongoing related rulemaking.”

    See previous InfoBytes coverage on the HMDA, Prepaid, and Debt Collection rulemaking updates.

    Other noteworthy aspects of the updated agenda include:

    • Regulation Reviews: The updated agenda reiterates the Bureau’s intent to review the regulations inherited from other agencies and “clarify ambiguities, address developments in the marketplace, and modernize or streamline regulatory provisions.” The updated agenda lists “pre-rule activities” as continuing through February 2018, rather than September 2017 under the prior agenda.
    • “Larger Participants” in Installment Lending: Consistent with the prior agenda, the CFPB states that it is preparing a proposed rule to define the “larger participants” in the personal loan market (including consumer installment loans and vehicle title loans) that will be subject to Bureau examinations. The updated agenda also states that the Bureau is still considering “whether rules to require registration of these or other non-depository lenders would facilitate supervision, as has been suggested to the Bureau by both consumer advocates and industry groups.” However, while the prior agenda indicated that a proposal was expected in September 2017, the new agenda lists May 2018.
    • Overdrafts: The updated agenda states only that the CFPB is “continuing to engage in additional research and consumer testing initiatives relating to the opt-in process” for overdraft protection and that “pre-rule activities” will continue through this month.  Under the prior agenda, pre-rule activities were scheduled to continue through June 2017.
    • Small Business Lending: The agenda indicates that the long-delayed implementation of the small business data reporting provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act will be delayed even longer. The last agenda listed “pre-rule activities” as continuing through June 2017, stating that the CFPB “is focusing on outreach and research to develop its understanding of the players, products, and practices in the small business lending market and of the potential ways to implement section 1071.” The new agenda states that these activities will continue until May 2018, after which the Bureau “expects to begin developing proposed regulations concerning the data to be collected, potential ways to minimize burdens on lenders, and appropriate procedures and privacy protections needed for information-gathering and public disclosure.”
    • TRID/Know Before You Owe Amendments: The updated agenda lists April 2018 as the expected release date for finalization of the July 2017 proposed rule addressing the “black hole” issue, which is discussed in a Buckley Sandler Special Alert. The prior agenda listed March 2018.
    • Mortgage Servicing Amendments: In October 2017, the CFPB issued proposed amendments to the mortgage periodic statement requirements to further address circumstances in which servicers transition between modified and unmodified statements in connection with a consumer’s bankruptcy case. The updated agenda does not provide an expected release date for final amendments.
    • Credit Card Agreement Submission: The agenda continues to state that the Bureau is considering rules to modernize its database of credit card agreements to reduce the submission burden on issuers and to make the database more useful for consumers and the general public. The agenda lists “pre-rule activities” as continuing through February 2018. Under the prior agenda, pre-rule activities were scheduled to continue through October 2017.

    Agency Rule-Making & Guidance CFPB HMDA ECOA Prepaid Cards Debt Collection Installment Loans Overdraft Small Business Lending TRID Mortgage Servicing Credit Cards

  • CFPB Releases Report on Consumers’ Overdraft Experiences

    Consumer Finance

    On November 21, the CFPB released a report summarizing findings from a qualitative study about consumers’ experiences with overdraft programs. The study consisted of one-on-one interviews by telephone with 88 individual consumers from May 2014 through June 2014 (the report does not comment on the three-year gap between the interviews and the release). According to the CFPB, the study was not designed to identify systematic trends but instead to provide an in-depth review of consumers’ experiences. The report concluded that consumers need a wide range of educational resources to support the varying experiences and perceptions they have with overdraft services. For example, the report notes that while some consumers commented on unexpected overdraft fees after miscalculating the timing of transaction processing, others noted their intentional use of overdraft options to make purchases or pay bills. The CFPB encouraged financial educators to develop their own overdraft resources with the awareness that consumers may use and interpret programs in varying ways and provided a list of CFPB resources available for use.

    Consumer Finance CFPB Overdraft Consumer Education

  • Seventh Circuit Upholds Ruling That Excludes Insurance Coverage for Overdraft Fees

    Courts

    On October 12, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit affirmed an Indiana District Court’s 2016 ruling, agreeing that an insurance company does not bear the responsibility for covering a bank’s $24 million class action settlement under a policy provision that excludes coverage for any case involving fees. In upholding the lower court’s decision, the three judge panel concluded that the insurance company had no duty to defend or indemnify the bank on the basis that the underlying overdraft fee claims fall under “Exclusion 3(n)” in the bank's professional liability insurance policy, which states that the insurance company “shall not be liable for [l]oss on account of any [c]laim . . . based upon, arising from, or in consequence of any fees or charges.” Class claims alleging that the bank manipulated its debit processing to “maximize overdraft revenue” by charging purportedly excessive fees to consumers who overdraw their checking and savings accounts triggered the exclusion. The panel also noted that an insurance company’s decision to include fee exclusions in banking liability policies is designed to prevent the “moral hazard” of allowing banks to “freely create other customer fee schemes” knowing they could easily secure coverage.

    Courts Appellate Seventh Circuit Overdraft Class Action Settlement Litigation

  • CFPB Announces September 28 Community Bank Advisory Council Meeting

    Consumer Finance

    On Thursday, September 28, the CFPB will hold its next Community Bank Advisory Council meeting in Washington, DC. According to the September 12 Federal Register publication providing notice of the meeting, the Council’s discussion topics will focus on “Know Before You Owe: Overdraft” services and other financial empowerment initiatives. As previously discussed in InfoBytes, on August 4 the CFPB announced the release of a study focused on the use of overdraft services by consumers, as well as four prototype overdraft disclosure templates currently under testing.

    Consumer Finance CFPB Community Banks Overdraft

  • CFPB Releases New Overdraft Protection Study and Prototype “Know Before You Owe” Disclosures

    Consumer Finance

    On August 4, the CFPB concurrently announced the release of a new study titled “Data Point: Frequent Overdrafters” on the use of overdraft services by consumers, as well as four new “Know Before You Owe” overdraft disclosure prototype templates. The announcement highlights findings in the study regarding the frequency of use and the costs associated with optional overdraft services. Alongside the publication of the study, the Bureau published four prototype templates currently under testing. These templates—which are not yet effective—are meant to improve on existing model forms by more “clearly laying out the size of the fees and when they can be charged,” as well as clarifying “the institution’s overdraft policies” and explaining that the decision to opt-in to the overdraft services is optional and covers only one-time debit card and ATM transactions. The Bureau continues to test the prototypes and consider further changes. The 2010 model form continues to apply until further notice from the CFPB. These developments reflect the CFPB’s years-long interest in overdraft products and build upon a prior 2014 Data Point study of this issue, as previously reported in Infobytes.

    Consumer Finance CFPB Overdraft

  • Buckley Sandler Special Alert: CFPB Releases Four Prototype Overdraft Disclosure Forms and a Report on Frequent Overdrafters

    Agency Rule-Making & Guidance

    On August 4, the CFPB released four new prototype overdraft opt-in model disclosure forms and a report titled “Data Point: Frequent Overdrafters.” A summary of the forms and report are provided below. The prototype forms are still in the process of being developed, and the Bureau is requesting feedback as it works toward finalizing them, but the prototypes are intended to replace the current model form A-9 found in Appendix A of Regulation E. The report focuses on bank customers who overdraft their accounts more than 10 times per year and provides context to the Bureau’s concerns on the impact overdraft services may have on financially vulnerable consumers.

    Although overdrafts have long been a focus of the CFPB’s enforcement and supervisory activities, this represents the first sign of movement by the Bureau toward the potential new overdraft services rulemaking listed on its 2017 rulemaking agenda, which is currently in the pre-rule stage. We anticipate that aspects of the approach and language contained in these prototype forms may eventually make their way into account agreements. We invite you to review the forms and report to gain insight into the CFPB’s view of overdraft services and the types of concerns the Bureau may attempt to address in future rulemaking.

    ***
    Click here to read full special alert.

    If you have questions about the report or other related issues, please visit our Retail Banking practice page, or contact a Buckley Sandler attorney with whom you have worked in the past.

    Agency Rule-Making & Guidance Federal Issues CFPB Consumer Finance Regulation E Overdraft

  • Buckley Sandler Insights: CFPB Updates Rulemaking Agenda

    Consumer Finance

    On July 20, the CFPB released its Spring 2017 rulemaking agenda. The agenda was last updated in Fall 2016. The summer release date, and the fact that certain deadlines listed in the updated agenda have already passed, indicates that the agenda’s release may have been delayed after the CFPB drafted it. The following aspects of the updated agenda are particularly noteworthy:

    • Regulation Reviews: The Bureau plans to begin “the first in a series of reviews of existing regulations that we inherited from other agencies through the transfer of authorities under the Dodd-Frank Act,” noting that “other federal financial services regulators have engaged in these types of reviews over time, and believe that such an initiative would be a natural complement to our work to facilitate implementation of new regulations.” The Bureau has formed “an internal task force to coordinate and deepen the agency’s focus on concerns about regulatory burdens and projects to identify and reduce unwarranted regulatory burdens….” The agenda lists “pre-rule activities” as continuing through September 2017. Separately, the Bureau notes its ongoing assessments of the effectiveness of the Mortgage Servicing Rules, the Ability-to-Repay/Qualified Mortgage Rule, and the Remittance Transfer Rule pursuant to the Dodd-Frank Act’s five-year lookback provision.
    • Small Dollar Lending: The Bureau reports that it received more than one million comments on its June 2016 proposed rule to impose ability-to-repay requirements for payday, vehicle title, and similar installment loans. The Bureau states that it “continue[s] to believe that the concerns articulated in the [proposed rule] are substantial” but does not provide an expected release date for a final rule.
    • “Larger Participants” in Installment Lending: The agenda lists September 2017 as the expected release date for “a proposed rule that would define non-bank ‘larger participants’ in the market for personal loans, including consumer installment loans and vehicle title loans.” Designation as a larger participant brings a non-bank entity within the CFPB’s supervisory jurisdiction. The agenda indicates that a companion rule requiring payday, vehicle title lenders, and other non-bank entities to register with the Bureau is also underway, as noted below.
    • Debt Collection: In July 2016, the Bureau released an outline of proposals under consideration for debt collection and convened a panel under the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act in conjunction with the Office of Management and Budget and the Small Business Administration’s Chief Counsel for Advocacy to consult with representatives of small businesses that might be affected by the rulemaking. The Bureau notes that, “[b]uilding on feedback received through [that] panel, we have decided to issue a proposed rule later in 2017 concerning debt collectors’ communications practices and consumer disclosures.” The agenda states that a proposed rule is expected in September 2017. The Bureau also states that, in a departure from the July 2016 outline of proposals, the Bureau “intend[s] to follow up separately at a later time about concerns regarding information flows between creditors and FDCPA collectors and about potential rules to govern creditors that collect their own debts.”
    • Overdrafts: The Bureau states that the current opt-in regime “produces substantially different opt-in rates across different depository institutions” and that its “supervisory and enforcement work indicates that some institutions are aggressively steering consumers to opt in.” The Bureau reports that it is “engaged in consumer testing of revised opt-in forms and considering whether other regulatory changes may be warranted to enhance consumer decision making.” The agenda lists “pre-rule activities” as continuing through June 2017.
    • Small Business Lending: The agenda lists “pre-rule activities” on the implementation of the small business data reporting provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act as continuing through June 2017. Specifically, the agenda states that, at this juncture, the CFPB “is focusing on outreach and research to develop its understanding of the players, products, and practices in the small business lending market and of the potential ways to implement section 1071.”
    • HMDA & ECOA Amendments: The agenda lists October 2017 as the expected release date for the April 2017 proposed ECOA amendments to clarify requirements for collecting information on ethnicity, race, and sex, but does not list an expected release date for finalization of the April 2017 proposed technical corrections to the 2015 HMDA rule, or the July 2017 proposed amendments to the 2015 HMDA rule’s requirements for reporting home equity lines of credit. 
    • TRID/Know Before You Owe Amendments: The agenda lists March 2018 as the expected release date for finalization of the July 2017 proposed rule addressing the “black hole” issue, which is discussed in our special alert.
    • Mortgage Servicing Amendments: The Bureau states that it expects to issue a proposal in September 2017 “to make one or more substantive changes to the rule in response to . . . concerns” raised by the industry. 
    • Arbitration: Interestingly, the agenda states that the Bureau’s final rule on mandatory arbitration clauses, which was released this month to significant controversy, was not expected until August.
    • Non-Bank Registration: The Bureau states that it is “considering whether rules to require registration of [installment lenders] or other non-depository lenders would facilitate supervision, as has been suggested to us by both consumer advocates and industry groups.”
    • Prepaid Cards: The agenda does not provide an expected release date for finalization of the June 2017 proposed amendments addressing error resolution and limitations on liability, application of the rule’s credit-related provisions to digital wallets, and other issues. 
    • Credit Card Agreement Submission: The Bureau is “considering rules to modernize our database of credit card agreements to reduce burden on issuers that submit credit card agreements to us and make the database more useful for consumers and the general public.” The agenda lists “pre-rule activities” as continuing through October 2017.

    Consumer Finance Agency Rule-Making & Guidance CFPB Regulator Enforcement Lending Installment Loans Debt Collection Overdraft Small Business Lending HMDA ECOA TRID Mortgages Arbitration Prepaid Cards Credit Cards

  • Pennsylvania-Based Bank Settles Overdraft Class Action for $1M

    Courts

    On June 12, a Pennsylvania-based bank resolved a class action lawsuit over claims the bank charged its customers improper overdraft fees by agreeing to a proposed $975,000 settlement. According to plaintiff’s unopposed motion for approval of the settlement, the bank had a “practice of assessing overdraft fees even when a customer has sufficient funds in their account to cover all merchant requests for payment.” The plaintiff further alleged that the bank incorrectly charged the fees “to maximize its overdraft fee revenue.” Transactions triggering an overdraft fee using the available balance, but which would not trigger an overdraft fee using the ledger balance, are included in the settlement. The proceeds of the proposed settlement will be distributed to eligible class members within 20 days of the effective date of the settlement.

    A preliminary issue in this case was the bank’s belief that the suit was subject to arbitration. The bank claimed the dispute was governed by an agreement to arbitrate contained in plaintiff’s 2008 account agreement, and not, as plaintiff contended, by plaintiff’s 2010 account agreement, which did not contain an arbitration agreement. The trial court disagreed with the bank. In fact, the Pennsylvania Superior Court affirmed the trial court’s decision that there was no agreement to arbitrate the action, after which the Pennsylvania Supreme Court denied the bank’s petition to appeal that decision.

    Courts Consumer Finance Banking Overdraft Litigation Class Action

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