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Financial Services Law Insights and Observations

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  • FTC Obtains Multiple Judgments Against California and Florida-Based Robocall Operations

    Consumer Finance

    The FTC recently entered judgments against robocalling operations based in California and Florida who engaged in activities that violated, among other things, the Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR) and the Telemarketing Consumer Fraud and Abuse Prevention Act.

    California Default Judgments. On June 2, the FTC announced a California federal district court judge approved default judgments against an individual and each of the nine corporations for which he was an “actual or de facto owner, officer or manager” (Defendants). According to the FTC’s complaint, over a period spanning approximately seven years, the Defendants allegedly initiated—or helped to initiate—“billions” of illegal robocalls without receiving written permission from consumers. Many of the calls made were to numbers on the Do Not Call (DNC) Registry to “induce the purchase of goods or services” such as auto warranties, home security systems, or search engine optimization services. Violations of the TSR cited include knowingly assisting and facilitating telemarketers engaged in abusive practices. According to the terms of the default judgments, the individual has been assessed a $2.7 million penalty, and the Defendants are permanently banned from all telemarketing activities.

    Florida Consent Order. On June 5, the FTC and the Florida Attorney General entered eight stipulated orders against Orlando-based individuals and companies—18 Defendants in total—who violated the TSR, Telemarketing and Consumer Fraud and Abuse Prevention Act, and Florida’s Telemarketing and Consumer Fraud and Abuse Act for, among others things, using robocalls to sell credit card interest rate reduction programs, in addition to calling numbers on the DNC Registry. According to the joint complaint, the Defendants allegedly engaged in the following violations: (i) offered debt relief programs but failed to provide promised services; (ii) misrepresented their affiliations with consumers’ banks or credit card companies; (iii) unfairly authorized charges without obtaining consent; (iv) received fees prior to providing debt relief services; (v) failed to transmit telemarketer information; (vi) used prerecorded messages to “induce the purchase of goods or services”; and (vii) failed to make oral disclosures. The stipulated orders settle charges against all Defendants and require that they stop the “allegedly illegal conduct.” Some of the Defendants have also been issued financial penalties. Furthermore, the FTC entered a $4.8 million judgment against 12 Defendants identified as the primarily parties for the scam. This amount represents the full amount of consumer harm caused. All stipulated orders can be accessed through the FTC press release.

    Consumer Finance FTC Privacy/Cyber Risk & Data Security State Attorney General UDAAP Enforcement Telemarketing Sales Rule Fraud

  • CFPB Monthly Complaint Snapshot Highlights Complaints from Older Consumers

    Consumer Finance

    On May 31, the CFPB released Vol. 23 of its Monthly Complaint Report. This month’s report highlights complaints from “older consumers” defined as those who voluntarily report their age as 62 or older. Since it began accepting complaints, the Bureau has received over 1 million complaints—more than 100,000 from older consumers. The report focuses on these complaints, with some of the most common in 2017 including:

    • Reverse mortgage servicing issues, which are unique to this group of consumers. Many of the complaints surround older consumers attempting to stay in their home after the death of the borrowing spouse, occasionally ending in foreclosure;
    • Financial scams and identity theft issues are often difficult to recover from—especially for consumers on fixed-incomes;
    • Credit card issues such as introductory offers may cause confusion for older consumers in understanding credit terms and conditions or the difference between zero interest and deferred interest. Additionally, many older consumers struggle with billing disputes, unwanted subscription services and credit monitoring; and
    • Escrow issues, especially when the consumer is trying to benefit from tax relief programs.

    The graph shown in a blog on the Bureau’s website compares complaints from consumers 62 and older with complaints from consumers under 62. Although both groups of consumers reported complaints for many of the same products, the graph shows that mortgages, debt collection and credit cards, in that order, are the top three products for those 62 and older—whereas debt collection, mortgages and credit reporting are the top three for those under 62. Additionally, the report reveals that almost a quarter of all complaints from older consumers came from residents of California, Texas, and Florida.

    Consumer Finance CFPB Mortgage Servicing Credit Cards Consumer Complaints Consumer Lending Fair Lending Privacy/Cyber Risk & Data Security

  • Cordray Discusses Youth Financial Education, CFPB Responsibilities

    Consumer Finance

    Recently, CFPB Director Richard Cordray delivered prepared remarks at the Financial Literacy and Education Commission Meeting in Washington, DC on May 24 and at the People and Places Conference in Arlington, VA on May 31.

    Financial Literacy and Education Commission (Commission). Coordinated by the Treasury Department’s Office of Financial Security, the Commission presented results from the 2015 Programme for International Student Assessment study on financial education in the U.S. and how it compares to other countries. Cordray’s opening remarks stressed the-importance of providing financial resources and educational tools empowering young people and outlined efforts the CFPB has underway, such as the Youth Financial Education resource page, the online Money as You Grow tool, and other community outreach education programs.

    People and Places Conference. A keynote speaker at the conference, Cordray outlined the three main components of the CFPB’s work: (i) supervision and enforcement; (ii) implementing common-sense rules; and (iii) hearing and addressing consumer complaints to help keep companies accountable. Regarding supervisory and enforcement actions, Cordray stated that the Bureau’s activities serve to help change institutions’ practices for the better by (i) providing consistent supervision; (ii) initiating public enforcement actions to serve as a deterrent to “bad behavior”; and (iii) upholding “laws that ban unfair, deceptive, or abusive acts or practices.” Cordray asserted that by setting expectations financial institutions must meet in their own compliance work, similar violations can be avoided. Cordray spoke next about the need to establish “common-sense rules of the road” in order to protect consumers. He used the mortgage industry as an example of how the Bureau responded to Congress’s directive for developing “much-needed reforms” by “implementing rules to govern underwriting, servicing, and loan originator compensation” and “temper[ed] these regulations for small creditors so as to ease regulatory burdens on community banks and credit unions.” Furthermore, Cordray stated the Bureau’s ability to receive and process consumer complaints is crucial to identifying, understanding, and prioritizing problems.

    Consumer Finance CFPB Consumer Education Mortgages Agency Rule-Making & Guidance

  • FDIC Releases List of Enforcement Actions Taken Against Banks and Individuals in April 2017

    Courts

    On May 26, the FDIC released its list of 18 administrative enforcement actions taken against banks and individuals in April. Among the consent orders on the list are civil money penalties for violations of the Flood Disaster Protection Act of 1973 and its flood insurance requirements. Also on the list are a cease and desist order and a civil money penalty assessment issued to a Louisiana-based bank (Bank) for violations of the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA), EFTA, RESPA, TILA, HMDA, and the National Flood Insurance Program. According to the cease and desist order, the FDIC Board of Directors agreed with the Administrative Law Judge’s recommended decision that the Bank engaged in unsafe or unsound practices, which warranted a cease and desist order and civil money penalty. The order also addressed a number of shortcomings identified by the Bank’s examiners, including the following: (i) the Bank’s BSA program lacked adequate internal controls to ensure compliance; (ii) it failed to provide correct and compete electronic funds transfer disclosures to consumers; (iii) borrowers were provided “untimely and improperly completed” good faith estimates; and (iv) the Bank repeatedly failed to accurately report required HMDA information to federal agencies.

    An additional eight actions listed by the FDIC related to unsafe or unsound banking practices and breaches of fiduciary duty, including five removal and prohibition orders. There are no administrative hearings scheduled for June 2017. The FDIC database containing all of its enforcement decisions and orders may be accessed here.

    Courts Consumer Finance Enforcement FDIC Litigation National Flood Insurance Program Bank Secrecy Act EFTA RESPA TILA HMDA Flood Insurance Flood Disaster Protection Act

  • FTC Submits Annual Report on 2016 Enforcement Actions to CFPB

    Consumer Finance

    On June 1, the FTC announced that it submitted its 2016 Annual Financial Acts Enforcement Report to the CFPB. The report—requested by the Bureau for its use in preparing its 2016 Annual Report to Congress—covers the FTC’s enforcement activities related to compliance with Regulation Z (Truth in Lending Act or TILA), Regulation M (Consumer Leasing Act), and Regulation E (Electronic Funds Transfer Act or EFTA), as well as its initiatives to engage in research and consumer education.

    According to the report, the FTC’s enforcement actions in 2016 concerning TILA involved automobile purchasing and financing, payday loans, and financing of consumer electronics. Regarding mortgage-related credit activity, the report highlights continued litigation in two cases involving mortgage assistance relief services involving “forensic audit scams.” Furthermore, the FTC continued its consumer and business education efforts on issues related to consumer credit transactions in the following areas: military lending, auto sales and financing, payday lending, marketplace lending, and consumer disclosures and testing.

    Regarding the Consumer Leasing Act, the report noted the FTC had issued a final administrative consent order for deceptive advertising practices and failure to disclose key lease offer terms. The FTC also filed two federal court actions against automobile dealers. The FTC also engaged in research and policy development and educational activities in this area.

    Concerning the EFTA, the FTC reported six new or ongoing cases, including four cases alleging violations in the context of “negative option” plans, in which a consumer agrees to “receive various goods or services from a company for a trial period at no charge or at a reduced price” but later incurs unauthorized recurring charges after the end of the trial period, in violation of the EFTA. The remaining two cases involved payday lending and consumer electronics financing. The FTC also engaged in rulemaking, research, policy development, and educational activities involving the EFTA.

    Consumer Finance CFPB FTC Enforcement Litigation Marketplace Lending TILA Consumer Leasing Act EFTA Mortgages

  • CFPB Seeks Public Comment on its Plans for Assessing the Ability-to-Repay/Qualified Mortgage Rule

    Consumer Finance

    On May 25, the CFPB issued a request for comment on its plans for assessing the 2014 Ability-to-Repay/Qualified Mortgage Rule’s effectiveness in meeting the purposes and objectives outlined in the Dodd-Frank Act, which requires the Bureau to assess each significant rule or order it adopts under Federal consumer financial laws. According to the request for comment, and a May 25 blog post on the CFPB’s website, the self-assessment will focus on objectives to ensure that: (i) consumers are provided with timely and understandable information to make responsible decisions about financial transactions; (ii) consumers are protected from unfair, deceptive, or abusive acts and practices and from discrimination; (iii) outdated, unnecessary, or unduly burdensome regulations are regularly identified and addressed in order to reduce unwarranted regulatory burdens; (iv) federal consumer financial law is enforced consistently, without regard to the status of a person as a depository institution, in order to promote fair competition; and (v) markets for consumer financial products and services operate transparently and efficiently to facilitate access and innovation.

    The Dodd-Frank Act established new standards for mortgage lending and created a class of “qualified mortgage” (QM) loans. The standards required lenders to assess consumers’ ability to repay (ATR). Dodd-Frank also provided for a class of QM loans that must not have “certain risky product features and are presumed to comply with the ATR requirement.”

    The CFPB issued rules to make ATR and QM standards “clear and effective” in January 2013. As previously covered in a Special Alert, the rule and its amendments that took effect on January 10, 2014 provide a mechanism for curing point-and-fees overages on QM loans as well as more minor amendments to its mortgage origination and servicing rules.

    Consumer Finance CFPB Mortgages Dodd-Frank Ability To Repay Mortgage Origination

  • Florida Judge Issues Temporary Injunction to Halt Debt Relief Operation

    Consumer Finance

    On May 25, at the request of the FTC and the State of Florida, a Southern District of Florida court issued a preliminary injunction order temporarily halting a debt relief operation that bilked millions of dollars from financially strapped consumers. According to the complaint filed by the FTC and the State of Florida, the Defendants—who operated the debt relief operation—allegedly violated the FTC Act, the FTC’s Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR), and the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act by claiming they would enroll consumers in loan forgiveness or payment reduction programs to pay, settle, or obtain dismissals of their debts and improve their credit. (See FTC v. Marcus, No. 0:17-cv-60907-CMA (S.D. Fla. May 8, 2017).) Consumers were often promised attractive interest rates and significantly lower monthly payments. However, consumers, after paying hundreds or thousands of dollars a month for promised debt-consolidation services, discovered their debts were unpaid, their accounts had defaulted, and their credit scores damaged. Several were sued by their creditors, and some were forced into bankruptcy. The FTC and the State of Florida further allege that the Defendants “falsely claimed non-profit status to appear more credible and legitimate.” The complaint further alleges that Defendants called consumers already enrolled with debt-relief providers to inform them that they were taking over the servicing of those accounts and would provide the same or similar debt relief services. Contrary to the Defendants’ promises, consumers ended up in worse financial positions.

    In its preliminary injunction order, the court determined that there was good cause to believe that “immediate and irreparable harm” would result unless an injunction was issued. The order prohibits the defendants, in connection with the advertising, marketing, promotion or sale of any good or service, including any debt-relief product or service or credit product or service, from making misrepresentations about debt-relief programs or services and violating any provision of the TSR. The court also ordered a freeze of the Defendants’ assets, imposed financial reporting requirements, and appointed a temporary receiver. In a press release issued by the FTC, the Agency claims it seeks to “permanently stop the alleged illegal practices and obtain refunds for affected consumers.”

    Consumer Finance Debt Relief Enforcement FTC

  • CFPB Closes Public Comments on Remittance Transfer Rule; Industry Groups Submit Responses

    Consumer Finance

    As previously covered in InfoBytes, the CFPB issued a request for comment on its plan for assessing the effectiveness of its May 2013 final rule governing consumer remittance transfers (Remittance Rule). The request, which closed for public comment on May 23, focused on, among other things: (i) “whether the market for remittances has evolved . . . in ways that promote access, efficiency, and limited market disruption”; and (ii) whether the Remittance Rule (and other CFPB regulatory activity) has “brought more information, transparency, and greater predictability of prices to the market.” The CFPB received over 35 public comments from a vast array of large and small credit unions, as well as some of the leading providers of money transfer by volume. The consensus among these institutions was that implementing and maintaining the Remittance Rule’s new disclosures, cancellation windows, and audits are costly and the benefits to consumers are negligible. Specifically, one commenter noted increased consumer confusion, increased consumer delays in receiving their funds, and some have discontinued offering money transfers altogether.

    On May 23, the American Bankers Association (ABA) submitted a comment letter calling upon the Bureau to conduct an evidence-based assessment on whether the rule has preserved consumers’ access to remittance services. According to a survey conducted by the ABA of 75 member banks of varying asset sizes and cited in the comment letter, the rule—intended to “provide additional information to help consumers shop for remittances and establish error resolution procedures and protections”—has “restricted consumers’ access to remittances, increased fees for use of the service, and unnecessarily delayed remittance requests.” As explained in the letter, the ABA expressed concern about the rule, stating that there is “little evidence that the final rule has improved consumer decision-making or facilitated comparison shopping.” Furthermore, the ABA has asked the CFPB to examine the following issues: (i) whether consumers, including those in rural areas, have access to remittance transfer services; (ii) whether consumers are provided information about remittance services that inform rather than confuse; and (iii) whether regulation of remittances is not unnecessarily burdensome to the financial institutions that provide this service.

    Separately, on May 23, The Clearing House, the Consumer Bankers Association, the Bankers Association for Finance and Trade, and the ABA (Associations), issued a joint letter urging the CFPB to examine the effects of the rule from the perspective of both consumer-senders of remittance transfers and the providers of those services. The Associations outlined recommendations for the CFPB including: (i) continuing to permit depository institutions to provide estimates of third-party fees and exchange rates rather than actual fees and rates in cases where obtaining exact data is not feasible; (ii) excluding from the rule high-value transfers in excess of a certain dollar amount as well as excluding from coverage transfers effectuated through reloadable prepaid cards; (iii) modifying disclosure requirements and cancellation and resend rights; and (iv) making changes to the rule’s error resolution provisions to hold the sender responsible for transaction costs resulting from sender error.

    Consumer Finance CFPB Remittance ABA

  • Department of Education Releases Phase II Amending the Federal Student Loan Servicing Solicitation

    Lending

    On May 19, the U.S. Department of Education (Department) announced the formal amendment of Phase II of the federal student loan servicing solicitation. According to a fact sheet issued by the Department, the amendment outlines plans to select a single student loan servicer that all borrowers will interact with on a unified platform. This is a departure from the current system in which nine servicing companies handle borrowers’ payments of their federal student loans. The amendment further clarifies and lists the Department's expectations of the eventual servicer. U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos commented on the announcement, “[w]ith changes in the new amendment, we have simplified the process to ensure meaningful borrower protections while saving taxpayers more than $130 million over the next five years. Savings are expected to increase significantly over the life of the contract. Borrowers can expect to see a more user-friendly loan servicing interface, shorter email and call response times and an improved payment application method that will maximize the benefit of each payment the borrower makes. Our amendment makes no changes to repayment plan requirements.”

    As previously covered in InfoBytes, DeVos also rolled back Obama administration policies developed to guide the way in which the federal government contracts with outside servicers.

    Lending Student Lending Consumer Finance Department of Education

  • Texas Enacts Law Expanding Requirements for Holders of Debt Cancellation Agreements

    State Issues

    On May 26, Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed into law SB 1052, which contains provisions related to retail installment contracts and debt cancellation agreements in the state. Notably, the revised and renumbered Section 354.007 of the Finance Code, “Refund for Debt Cancellation Agreements,” concerns the responsibilities of the holder or the administrator of the agreement. This section has been amended to add that if a debt cancellation occurs as a result of an early termination of the contract, the holder shall, within 60 days of the termination, “refund or credit an appropriate amount of the debt cancellation agreement fee” or refund or credit the appropriate amount of the fee through written instructions to the appropriate person. Revisions also dictate that the holder will ensure that the refund or credit of the debt cancellation agreement fee “made by another person” is also made no later than 60 days after the agreement terminates. Furthermore, the holder is now responsible for maintaining records pertaining to the refund or credit of the debt cancellation agreement fee, and likewise, must grant electronic access to the records per the terms of the provision. The law takes effect September 1, 2017.

    State Issues Debt Cancellation Consumer Finance

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