InfoBytes Blog

Senate Democrats press CFPB to investigate Pennsylvania servicer’s PSLF management

On October 28, 23 Senate Democrats wrote to CFPB Director Kathy Kraninger urging the Bureau to open an enforcement investigation into a Pennsylvania-based student loan servicer’s alleged mismanagement of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program. The Senators contend that the servicer’s failure to properly administer the PSLF program “has resulted in widespread violations of federal law,” referring to reports by the CFPB, the Government Accountability Office, and the Department of Education Inspector General that claim that missteps and errors have caused public service workers to be denied loan forgiveness. The CFPB’s Student Loan Ombudsman’s report cites to the servicer’s “‘flawed payment processing, botched paperwork and inaccurate information,’” while the GAO report claims “that public service workers [have] improperly been denied loan forgiveness because of [the servicer’s] inability to properly account for qualifying payments and reliance on inaccurate information.” The letter requests that the Bureau investigate the servicer’s servicing practices, its management of the PSLF program, and other potential violations of federal consumer financial laws.

As previously covered by InfoBytes, on October 3, the New York attorney general filed an action against the servicer for violating the Consumer Financial Protection Act and New York law through its mishandling of income driven repayment plans and misconduct related to the administration of PSLF program applications.

Federal Issues U.S. Senate CFPB Student Loan Servicer Student Lending PSLF

Democratic Senators lay out expectations for new CFPB Private Education Loan Ombudsman

On October 10, the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee released a letter from Senators Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) and Patty Murray (D-Wash) to the new CFPB Student Loan Ombudsman, Robert Cameron, outlining their expectations for his tenure in the Ombudsman’s Office. The senators state that Cameron should, among other things, (i) advocate for student loan borrowers by utilizing the Bureau’s statutory authority and tools, including policymaking and evidence gathering for supervision and enforcement; (ii) reestablish the information sharing Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the U.S. Department of Education and the Bureau; (iii) resume examinations of federal student loan servicers; and (iv) carry out his duties free of conflict of interests. The Senators request that Cameron provide additional information by October 25 regarding a potential conflict of interest (based on his prior work as Deputy Chief Counsel at a student loan servicer), the Bureau’s history of PSLF supervisory examinations, and current staffing in the Ombudsman Office.

Federal Issues CFPB Student Lending PSLF U.S. Senate

Senate Democrats question the CFPB on PSLF oversight

On April 3, six Democratic Senators wrote to the CFPB seeking additional information on the Bureau’s oversight of student loan companies and servicers involved in the administration of the federal Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program (PSLF). In the letter, the Senators expressed concern that the Bureau’s leadership “has abandoned its supervision and enforcement activities related to federal student loan servicers.” The Senators noted that consumers owe more than $1.5 trillion in student loan debt in the U.S. and that loan servicing companies under contract with the U.S. Department of Education (the “Department”) are “covered persons” under Title X of the Dodd Frank Act, which allows the Bureau “broad oversight authority over their actions.” The Senators cited to a number of lawsuits brought by private citizens and state authorities challenging student loan servicing companies’ actions with regard to PSLF, and requested the Bureau respond to a series of questions regarding its activities overseeing student loan servicers’ handling of PSLF since December 2017. Among other things, the Senators requested information regarding (i) the Bureau’s examinations of student loan servicers’ PSLF administration; (ii) the effect of the Department’s December 2017 guidance to loan servicing contractors not to produce documents directly to other government agencies; (iii) the status of the CFPB’s alleged investigation into a specific student loan servicer’s actions; and (iv) the status of information sharing with the Department since August 2017.

Federal Issues U.S. Senate Student Loan Servicer Consumer Finance PSLF Congressional Inquiry Department of Education CFPB