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NYDFS releases updated guidance regarding indirect auto lending fair lending compliance
On August 23, the New York Department of Finance Services (NYDFS) released updated guidance reminding institutions engaged in indirect auto lending through third parties that they must comply with the state’s Fair Lending Law, despite the May repeal of the CFPB’s Bulletin 2013-02 on indirect auto lending and compliance with the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA). (The repeal was previously covered by InfoBytes here.) The updated guidance “consolidates, streamlines and reinforces previous guidance issued by [NYDFS]’s predecessor, the New York State Banking Department,” which applies to supervised financial institutions and their subsidiaries and affiliates (lenders). The guidance provides a list of actions lenders should take to develop a fair lending compliance program for indirect auto lending, including (i) submitting all applications for loans that are rejected or withdrawn to an automatic review by a higher-level supervisor; (ii) implementing a fair lending training program for both new hires and current employees; (iii) obtaining written agreements from all dealers that certify that the dealer acknowledges its responsibility to comply with fair lending laws and the policies and procedures contained in the fair lending plan; and (iv) extending fair lending plan principles to refinancing and collection practices.
Court opens door for CFPB to appeal constitutionality determination to 2nd Circuit
On August 23, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York granted the CFPB’s request for entry of final judgment with respect to the court’s June decision to terminate the CFPB as a party to an action. The court has previously concluded that the CFPB could not proceed with its claims under the Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA). The entry of final judgment will allow the CFPB to appeal the court’s constitutionality determination to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit. As previously covered by InfoBytes, the CFPB brought the action with the New York Attorney’s General office (NYAG) against a New Jersey-based finance company and its affiliates (defendants). Although the court dismissed the CFPB’s claims, it determined that the NYAG had plausibly alleged claims under New York law and the CFPA and had the independent authority to pursue those claims.
The court also granted the defendants’ request to stay the NYAG case during the pendency of the CFPB’s appeal to the 2nd Circuit.
Senate Banking Committee narrowly approves Kraninger to head CFPB
On August 23, the Senate Banking Committee approved, in a 13-12 party-line vote, Kathy Kraninger to be the next Director of the CFPB, which carries a five-year term. Kraninger’s nomination next moves to the full Senate. Acting Director, Mick Mulvaney, will remain in his position for the foreseeable future, as the Federal Vacancies Reform Act allows him to continue in his acting capacity until the full Senate confirms or denies Kraninger’s nomination.
In July, Kraninger testified before the Senate Banking Committee where she fielded questions covering a range of topics, including whether she would appeal a June ruling by a federal judge in New York asserting that the CFPB’s structure was unconstitutional. While Kraninger did not provide a substantive answer to that question, she did comment that, “Congress, through [the] Dodd-Frank Act, gave the Bureau incredible powers and incredible independence from both the president and the Congress in its structure. . . . My focus is on running the agency as Congress established it, but certainly working with members of Congress. I’m very open to changes in that structure that will make the agency more accountable and more transparent.” See more detailed InfoBytes coverage on Kraninger’s July nomination hearing here.
Appellants petition 5th Circuit for en banc hearing of CFPB constitutionality challenge
On August 13, two Mississippi-based payday loan and check cashing companies (appellants) filed an unopposed petition for initial hearing en banc with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit regarding a challenge to the constitutionality of the CFPB’s single director structure. In April, the 5th Circuit agreed to hear the appellant’s interlocutory appeal, and now the appellants request the appeals court move straight to an en banc panel, stating “if [the] appeal is heard under the normal panel process, [the] Court will likely be asked to rehear that panel’s decision en banc, as occurred in the D.C. Circuit’s PHH case.” (covered by a Buckley Sandler Special Alert here.) The appellants cite to the July decision by the 5th Circuit ruling the FHFA’s single director structure violates Article II of the Constitution (previously covered by InfoBytes here) and note that a petition for rehearing en banc has already been filed in that case. The appellants suggest coordination in scheduling the potential en banc arguments should the court accept both petitions, arguing that the decision would “guarantee that the Fifth Circuit speaks with one voice regarding the constitutionality of these agencies’ structures.”
CFPB urges court for final judgment in order to appeal constitutionality determination
On August 10, the CFPB submitted a request to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York for a pre-motion conference to discuss approval to file a motion requesting entry of final judgment with respect to the court’s June decision, which would allow the Bureau to appeal that decision. As previously covered by InfoBytes, the court had terminated the CFPB as a party to an action with the New York Attorney General’s office (NYAG) against a New Jersey-based finance company and its affiliates (defendants), concluding that the CFPB’s organizational structure is unconstitutional and therefore, the agency lacks authority to bring claims under the Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA). The court determined that the NYAG, however, had plausibly alleged claims under the CFPA and New York law and had the independent authority to pursue those claims.
In its letter, the CFPB argues that the conditions of Rule 54(b) are met because (i) there are multiple parties still involved in the litigation; (ii) the court’s decision as to the Bureau’s claims is final; and (iii) there is no just reason for delay. Moreover, the CFPB argues that allowing the NYAG to proceed with claims under the CFPA without the Bureau’s “statutorily-assigned right to participate in CFPA claims brought by state regulators” would result in hardship or injustice that could be alleviated by an immediate appeal. Additionally, the CFPB asserts that the issues to be appealed—the constitutionality of the Bureau’s structure and whether the for-cause removal provision is severable from the rest of the CFPA—are separable from the issues that remain to be decided between the NYAG and the defendants.
In response to the Bureau’s letter, the NYAG argued that, regardless of the court’s decision under Rule 54(b), the court should not stay the case and should resolve all of its claims. The defendants responded that they do not oppose the Bureau’s Rule 54(b) request but believe NYAG’s claims should be stayed during the pendency of the Bureau’s appeal, arguing that the Bureau implied this in their request. The Bureau subsequently denied any implication that the NYAG’s claims should be stayed.
3rd Circuit rules student loan servicer must comply with CID
On August 13, in a divided opinion that is not precedential, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit affirmed a lower court’s decision to grant a petition filed by the CFPB to enforce a civil investigative demand (CID) issued to a student loan servicer, rejecting arguments that the scope of the Bureau’s investigation was too broadly defined. The Notification of Purpose in the CID at issue named the entirety of the servicer’s business operations, without identifying any specific conduct, when the CFPB sought records to determine whether the servicer’s practices violated federal consumer financial laws. The servicer objected to the Notification of Purpose and petitioned the Bureau to set aside or modify the CID because it did not adequately “state the nature of the conduct constituting the alleged violation which is under investigation and the provision of law applicable to such violation.” The appellate court held that the servicer’s “contention rests on the flawed assumption that the CFPB could not investigate all of [the servicer’s] conduct,” and that, moreover, “[n]othing prohibits the CFPB from investigating the totality of [the servicer’s] business activities, and courts have previously enforced administrative subpoenas regarding conduct that is coextensive with the recipient’s business activity.”
CFPB Succession: Bureau reportedly no longer examining for MLA compliance
According to reports citing “internal agency documents,” acting Director of the CFPB Mick Mulvaney intends to cease supervisory examinations of the Military Lending Act (MLA), contending the law does not explicitly prescribe the Bureau the authority to examine financial institutions for compliance with the MLA. In 2013, amendments to the MLA granted enforcement authority to the same agencies with administrative enforcement power under TILA, including the Bureau, but these amendments did not also provide these same agencies with the statutory authority to supervise institutions for compliance with the MLA. The Bureau currently includes the MLA in the statutory- and regulation-based procedures section of the Supervision and Examination Manual and has not released a formal statement in response to reports of this supervisory change.
District Court rules student loan servicer must turn over Department of Education borrower records to Bureau
On August 10, the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania ordered a loan servicer hired by the Department of Education (Department) to service loans it owns to turn over certain Department-owned student loan borrower documents to the CFPB, which relate to the servicer’s collection and management of its federal student loan borrowers’ payments. During the course of the ongoing litigation (see previous InfoBytes coverage here), the servicer withheld the documents in discovery on the grounds that they belonged to the Department and were therefore protected from disclosure by the Privacy Act. Moreover, the servicer asserted that the dispute was really between the Bureau and the Department because, in order to turn over the documents, the servicer would first have to obtain permission from the Department.
However, according to the opinion issued by the court, turning over the documents would not violate the defendants’ agreement with the Department or violate federal privacy law. Specifically, the court stated that “there is no dispute that the borrower documents at issue are in the possession of [d]efendants, even if, as [d]efendants assert, they are owned by the Department,” and as such, under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, “requests can be made for production of documents, electronically stored information, and things in ‘the responding party’s possession, custody or control.’” Furthermore, the court stated that “the Privacy Act’s general prohibition on disclosure of records . . . does not create a qualified discovery privilege” and cannot be used as a means to “block the normal course of court proceedings, including court-ordered discovery.”
CFPB settles unauthorized payday loan allegations
On August 10, the CFPB announced a settlement with multiple defendants that allegedly made unauthorized payday loans. The settlement results from a 2014 complaint that alleged, among other things, that the defendants accessed consumer checking accounts to illegally deposit the proceeds of payday loans and withdraw related fees without consumer consent. The stipulated final judgment and order, among other things, (i) imposes a penalty of up to approximately $69 million if the defendants fail to fully comply with the operative terms of the settlement; (ii) prohibits the defendants from performing similar activities in the future; and (iii) assesses a civil money penalty of $1, in part based on the defendants’ inability to pay.
On July 23, as previously covered by InfoBytes, a court approved a stipulated final judgment and order against one of the defendants, who neither admitted nor denied the Bureau’s allegations, for a civil money penalty of $1 (based, in part, on his inability to pay) and agreement to fully cooperate with the Bureau.
CFPB amends Regulation P, provides exemptions for annual privacy notice requirement
On August 10, the CFPB issued final amendments to Regulation P, which implements the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act and provides, among other things, exemptions for financial institutions from sending annual privacy notices to consumers provided they meet certain conditions. The final rule—originally proposed in July 2016 (as previously covered in InfoBytes here)—implements a December 2015 statutory change in Section 75001 of the “Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act,” which permits certain exemptions provided a qualifying financial institution (i) has not changed its privacy notice from the one previously delivered to its customer, and (ii) limits its sharing of a customer’s nonpublic personal information with nonaffiliated third parties so that a customer does not have the right to opt out, as otherwise afforded under the statute and Regulation P. The final rule will not affect the collection or use of a customer’s nonpublic personal information, and all financial institutions are still required to deliver initial privacy notices to customers. Moreover, the final rule establishes requirements for alternative delivery methods and provides deadlines for financial institutions that lose the exception and are required to resume delivery of annual privacy notices.
The amendments to Regulation P will take effect 30 days after publication in the Federal Register.