InfoBytes Blog
Filter
Subscribe to our InfoBytes Blog weekly newsletter and other publications for news affecting the financial services industry.
Agencies finalize new 2019 thresholds for TILA and CLA
On November 21, the CFPB and the Federal Reserve Board finalized the annual dollar threshold adjustments that govern the application of Regulation Z (Truth in Lending Act) and Regulation M (Consumer Leasing Act) to credit transactions, as required by the Dodd-Frank Act. Each year the thresholds must be readjusted based on the annual percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W). The exemption threshold for 2019, based on the annual percentage increase in the CPI-W, is now $57,200 or less, except for private student loans and loans secured by real property, which are subject to TILA regardless of the amount.
Auto lender pays $11.8 million to resolve investigation into add-on product and loan extension program
On November 20, the CFPB announced a settlement with a Texas-based auto lender to resolve allegations that the lender violated the Consumer Financial Protection Act by deceptively marketing an auto-loan guaranteed asset protection (GAP) add-on product and misrepresenting the impact on consumers of obtaining a loan extension. Regarding the GAP add-on product, which was intended to cover a “gap” between the consumer’s primary auto insurance payout and the consumer’s outstanding loan balance in the event of a total vehicle loss, the CFPB alleged that the lender failed to disclose to consumers that if their loan-to-value was greater than 125 percent, they would not receive the “true full coverage” advertised with the GAP add-on product. Regarding extensions of auto loans, the CFPB alleged, among other things, that the lender failed to “clearly and prominently” disclose that interest accrued during a loan extension would be paid before principal when the consumer resumed making payments on the extended loan. Under the order, the lender must, among other things, (i) pay $9.29 million in consumer restitution; (ii) clearly and prominently disclose the terms of the GAP add-on product and loan extension; and (iii) pay $2.5 million in a civil money penalty.
CFPB updates HOEPA and Loan Originator Rule small entity compliance guides
On November 16, the CFPB released versions 3.0 of its Home Ownership and Equity Protection Act (HOEPA) Rule small entity compliance guide and Loan Originator Rule small entity compliance guide to reflect the changes made by Section 107 of the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act, which broadened and expanded an exemption for manufactured home retailers. Among other technical and conforming revisions, the Loan Originator Rule guide reflects the new exemptions whereby certain manufactured home retailers are not considered loan originators. The revised HOEPA Rule guide specifies when loan originator compensation paid to a manufactured home retailer must be included in the points and fees calculation.
FDIC seeks comments on small-dollar loans
On November 14, the FDIC issued a request for information (RFI) seeking public comment on ways it can encourage FDIC-supervised financial institutions to offer “responsible, prudently underwritten small-dollar credit products that are economically viable and address the credit needs of bank customers.” In the RFI’s release, FDIC Chairman Jelena McWilliams pointed to studies showing that “[c]onsumers benefit when small-dollar credit products are available from banks” and requested “the public to use the RFI process to tell [the FDIC] how to ensure that consumers can obtain small dollar credit from banking institutions in a responsible manner.” The RFI seeks information related to the “full spectrum of issues” related to banks offering small-dollar credit, including regulatory and non-regulatory obstacles for banks, as well as actions the FDIC could take to assist banks in serving the small-dollar market. In addition to general feedback, the RFI includes a list of suggested topics and questions for commenters to address. Comments will be due 60 days after publication in the Federal Register.
Recently, the OCC and the CFPB have also made efforts to encourage banks to meet the small-dollar credit needs of consumers. In May, the OCC issued Bulletin 2018-14 encouraging banks to offer responsible short-term, small-dollar installment loans with typical maturities between two and 12 months (covered by InfoBytes here). In addition to applauding the OCC’s Bulletin, the CFPB announced it expects to publish proposed rules reconsidering the ability-to-repay provisions of the rule covering Payday, Vehicle Title, and Certain High-Cost Installment Loans in January 2019 (covered by InfoBytes here).
CFPB issues semi-annual report to Congress
On November 9, the CFPB issued its semi-annual report to Congress, covering the Bureau’s work from October 1, 2017 to March 30, 2018. The report, which is required by the Dodd-Frank Act, addresses, among other things, problems faced by consumers with regard to consumer financial products or services; significant rules and orders adopted by the Bureau; and various supervisory and enforcement actions taken during the majority of acting Director Mick Mulvaney’s tenure. Specifically, the report includes (i) a summary of five “significant” state Attorney General actions pursuant to Section 1042 of the Dodd-Frank Act, which allows states to enforce the federal law; (ii) a review of the Bureau’s fair lending efforts, noting that it “conducted fewer fair lending supervisory events. . .than in the prior period,” but “cleared a substantially higher number of MRAs or MOU items from past supervisory events than in the prior period”; (iii) a discussion of non-prime and secured credit cards marketed to consumers; and (iv) a list of upcoming initiatives, which includes requests for information regarding, among other things, the Bureau’s consumer complaint and consumer inquiry handling processes, the Bureau’s inherited regulations and inherited rulemaking authorities, the Bureau’s adopted regulations and new rulemaking authorities, Bureau rulemaking processes, Bureau public reporting practices of consumer complaint information, Bureau external engagements, the Bureau’s supervision program, and the Bureau’s enforcement processes.
Notably, the report also discusses the budget for FY 2018, acknowledging the unusual January 2018 request for zero dollars in funding for the Bureau’s quarterly operations (previously covered by InfoBytes here). As for FY 2019, Mulvaney most recently requested nearly $173 million for Q1, which is still significantly below former Bureau Director Richard Cordray’s FY 2017 Q1 request of $217 million.
Court grants request to stay CFPB payday rule compliance date
On November 6, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas granted two payday loan trade groups’ request to reconsider the court’s June decision to deny a stay of the compliance date (August 19, 2019) of the Bureau’s final rule on payday loans, vehicle title loans, and certain other installment loans (Rule). The court styed the compliance date until further order of the court. The court previously (twice) denied requests to stay the compliance date (covered by InfoBytes here and here). However, the court reconsidered its decision after an October 26 status update, in which the Bureau informed the court of its intention to issue a notice of proposed rulemaking in January 2019 to reconsider parts of the Rule and the compliance date (covered by InfoBytes here).
As previously covered by InfoBytes, the payday loan trade groups filed a lawsuit against the Bureau in April asking the court to set aside the Rule on the grounds that, among other reasons, the Bureau is unconstitutional and the rulemaking failed to comply with the Administrative Procedure Act.
FHFA and CFPB release dataset from National Survey of Mortgage Originations
On November 8, the FHFA and the CFPB announced the release of a new loan-level dataset that was collected through the National Survey of Mortgage Originations (NSMO). Since 2014, in each quarter, FHFA and the CFPB send the NSMO survey to borrowers who recently obtained a mortgage to gather feedback on their experiences, perceptions, and future expectations of the mortgage market. This is the first public release of the compiled NSMO data. The NSMO is a component of the National Mortgage Database, which the FHFA and the CFPB launched in 2012 to help regulators better understanding mortgage market trends to support policymaking and research efforts and to fulfill the mortgage survey and mortgage market monitoring requirements of the Housing and Economic Recovery Act (HERA) and the Dodd Frank Act.
CFPB updates HMDA Small Entity Compliance Guide
On October 30, the CFPB released an updated HMDA Small Entity Compliance Guide to reflect Section 104(a) of the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act (the Act) and the 2018 HMDA interpretive and procedural rule. As previously covered by InfoBytes, on August 31, the CFPB issued an interpretive and procedural rule to implement Section 104(a) of the Act, which amends section 304(i) of HMDA by adding partial exemptions from some of HMDA’s reporting requirements for certain insured depository institutions and insured credit unions.
CFPB releases Remittance Rule assessment report
On October 26, the CFPB released an assessment report of its Remittance Rule, in accordance with the Dodd-Frank Act’s requirements that the Bureau conduct an assessment of each significant rule within five years of the rule’s effective date. The Bureau’s 2013 Remittance Rule (Rule), including its subsequent amendments, requires providers to (i) give consumers disclosures showing costs, fees and other information before they pay for a remittance transfer; (ii) provide cancellation and refund rights; and (iii) investigate disputes and remedy certain errors. The assessment was conducted using the Bureau’s own research and external sources. Key findings of the assessment include:
- Money services businesses (MSBs) conduct 95.6 percent of all remittance transfers and the volume of transfers from these businesses was increasing before the effective date of the Rule and continued to increase afterwards at the same or higher rate.
- The average price of remittances was declining before the Rule took effect and has continued to do so.
- Initial compliance costs for the Rule were between $86 million, based on analysis at the time of the rulemaking, and $92 million, based on estimates from a survey of industry conducted by the Bureau.
- Ongoing compliance costs are estimated between $19 million per year and $102 million per year.
- Consumers cancel between 0.3 percent and 4.5 percent of remittance transfers, according to available data sources, and there is evidence of some banks initiating a delay in the transfer to make it easier to provide a refund if a consumer cancels within the 30-minute cancellation window permitted under the Rule.
- Approximately 80 percent of banks and 75 percent of credit unions that offer remittance transfers are below the 100-transfer threshold in a given year and are therefore, not subject to the Rule’s requirements.
CFPB imposes $200,000 fine on small dollar lender for deceptive debt collection practices
On October 24, the CFPB announced a settlement with a Tennessee-based small dollar lender, resolving allegations that the lender violated the Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA). Specifically, as stated in the consent order, the CFPB alleges that the lender (i) deceptively threatened to sue consumers on time-barred debts; (ii) misled consumers that the lender would report late payments to credit reporting agencies when the lender did not; and (iii) abusively set-off previous loans by telling its employees not to tell check-cashing consumers that it would deduct previous amounts owed from the check proceeds. Consequently, the Bureau alleged that the lender took “unreasonable advantage of the consumers’ lack of understanding” that the lender would take a portion of the check they intended to cash and physically kept the check away from consumers until the transaction was complete, which “nullified” any written set-off disclosures when the consumer signed his or her agreement. In addition to the $200,000 civil money penalty, the consent order requires the lender to (i) pay approximately $32,000 in restitution to consumers, and (ii) establish a compliance plan with detailed steps and timelines for complying with applicable laws.