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Two GOP Senators Urge Incoming Administration to Remove Director Cordray
On January 9, two GOP lawmakers sent a letter to Vice President-elect Mike Pence urging the incoming administration to remove CFPB Director Richard Cordray “promptly after [President Trump’s] inauguration.” Stating that “[i]t’s time to fire King Richard,” Sen. Ben Sasse, a member of the Senate Banking Committee, and Sen. Mike Lee cited the D.C. Circuit’s October 2016 decision in CFPB v. PHH to argue that, once in office, President Trump has the constitutional authority to remove Director Cordray immediately. In pushing for Director Cordray’s ouster, the Senators noted, among other things, the CFPB’s decision to move ahead in the lame-duck session with regulations of arbitration clauses and payday loans, which they consider costly and “radically opposed to the Trump administration’s pro-growth agenda.”
As previously covered by InfoBytes, a majority of a panel of U.S. Circuit Court for District of Columbia concluded in October 2016 that the CFPB’s governance structure was unconstitutional, and, as a corrective measure, authorized the President to fire the Bureau’s sole Director at will—a ruling for which the Bureau now seeks rehearing en banc. In addressing this pending appeal, the Senators’ January 9 letter suggests in a footnote that, if the rehearing moves forward, the Justice Department should refrain from defending the CFPB.
CFPB Settles with Two Credit Reporting Companies Regarding Marketing Practices
On January 3, the CFPB entered into separate consent orders (2017-CFPB-0001, 2017-CFPB-0002) with two credit reporting companies and their subsidiaries regarding the companies’ representations concerning credit scores sold to consumers, as well as the companies’ credit-related product sales practices. Under the terms of its consent order, one of the companies must pay a $2.5 million civil penalty in addition to almost $3.8 million in restitution to affected consumers. The consent order for the other company includes a $3 million civil penalty and payment of more than $13.9 million in restitution to affected consumers.
CFPB Releases Report on Student Debt Incurred by Older Consumers
On January 5, the CFPB announced the release of a report, entitled Snapshot of Older Consumers and Student Loan Debt, which examines the “increasing student loan debt that older consumers are carrying, as well as how the increased debt burden is impacting borrowers’ later life financial security.” Among other things, the Report notes that the number of older student loan borrowers has quadrupled over the last decade, and that the amount of debt per older borrower has roughly doubled over that same time period, particularly as many borrowers take out loans for children or grandchildren. The Report notes further that, in 2015, nearly 40 percent of federal student loan borrowers age 65 and older were in default.
The Report also examines complaints from older consumers with private and federal student loans and highlights common problems that appear to arise, including, among other things, co-signing private student loans and difficulties accessing protections guaranteed under federal law for many federal student loan borrowers.
CFPB Releases Annual Report to Congress on Transparency, Accountability in 2016
On January 3, the CFPB announced the release of its annual report to the Senate and House Committees on Appropriations for 2016. The report—which covers October 1, 2015 through September 30, 2016—identifies the specific responsibilities that the Dodd-Frank Act tasked to the CFPB and explains how the Bureau has attempted to meet those responsibilities. Among other things, the report describes Bureau regulations and guidance related to the Dodd-Frank Act including, but not limited to: (i) a proposed rule on arbitration; (ii) a proposed rule related to payday loans, vehicle title loans, and other similar credit products; (iii) a final rule to amend various provisions of the mortgage servicing rules implementing the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act and the Truth in Lending Act; and (iv) a final rule amending Regulation C, implementing the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act. The report also includes descriptions of the Bureau’s supervisory activities and enforcement actions undertaken by in the 2016 fiscal year.
CFPB Adjusts Exemption Thresholds for Escrows Under TILA
On December 23, the CFPB announced that it is amending the official commentary interpreting Regulation Z (Truth in Lending) to reflect a change in the asset size exemption thresholds required to establish an escrow account for higher-priced mortgages under Reg. Z. Under the amended commentary, the exemption threshold is adjusted to increase to $2.069 billion from $2.052 billion.
CFPB Outlines Fair Lending Priorities for 2017
On December 16, the Director of the Office of Fair Lending and Equal Opportunity at the CFPB announced the Bureau’s fair lending priorities for 2017. According to Ms. Ficklin’s blog post, the CFPB will increase its efforts to prevent credit discrimination and improve credit access by focusing on redlining, mortgage and student loan servicing, and small business lending. Specifically, the Bureau will increase its focus on evaluating: (i) whether lenders are intentionally avoiding lending in minority neighborhoods; (ii) if delinquent borrowers face more difficulty in working out payment arrangements with mortgage or student loan servicers because of their race or ethnicity; and (iii) whether women-owned and minority-owned small businesses experience discrimination when applying for credit.
CFPB Orders Payday Lender to Pay Over $500k in Civil Monetary Penalty and Restitution to Customers
On December 16, the CFPB announced that it had entered a stipulation and consent order assessing a $250,000 civil monetary penalty and other remediation against a financial-services company that offers payday loans and check-cashing services based on allegations that it misled consumers through deceptive online advertisements and collections letters and made unauthorized electronic transfers from consumers’ bank accounts. Among other things, the Bureau took particular issue with the fact that Bureau examiners had previously identified “significant compliance-management-system weaknesses that heightened the risk that violations w[ould] occur,” and that “[a]t the times the violations described in this order, the company had not adequately addressed these issues.”
According to the terms of the consent order, the company is required to: (i) end its deceptive practices and obtain authorization for any electronic-fund transfers; (ii) pay approximately $255,000 to redress harm caused to affected consumers; and (iii) pay a civil monetary penalty of $250,000. As explained by CFPB Director Richard Cordray, “consumers were making decisions based on false and deceptive information, and today’s action will give the company’s customers the redress they are owed.”
CFPB Takes Action Against Pawnbrokers for Misleading Annual Percentage Rates
On December 19, the CFPB announced it had filed enforcement actions (3:16cv987, 3:16cv988, 1:16cv1566, 1: 16cv1567) in federal district court against four Virginia pawnbrokers for misleading customers through deceptively low annual percentage rates that intentionally omit or hide certain fees and charges. In each Complaint, the Bureau alleges both TILA violations and unfair, deceptive, or abusive acts or practices under Dodd-Frank and the CPA. The complaints seek injunctive relief ordering the pawnbrokers to stop the allegedly illegal practices, restitution for consumers, and statutory penalties.
CFPB Unveils Web-based Tool To Deliver Regular Updates on Consumer Lending Markets
On December 19, the CFPB announced the release of “Consumer Credit Trends,” a beta version of its new web-based tool to help the public monitor developments in the mortgage, credit card, auto loan, and student loan markets. According to the Bureau, the data used by Consumer Credit Trends “draws from a nationally representative sample of credit records maintained by one of the top three U.S. credit repositories.” The CFPB plans to update this information regularly, and will offer analyses on notable findings as warranted. It also clarifies that “before being provided to the Bureau,” the credit records are “stripped of any information that might reveal consumers’ identities, such as names, addresses, and Social Security numbers.” The ability to “chart the state of consumer markets,” says CFPB Director Richard Cordray, “will help us identify and act on trends that warn of another crisis or that show credit is too constricted.”
CFPB Orders Credit Services Provider to Pay $200K Civil Penalty for Improper Contract Disclosures
On December 19, the CFPB entered a consent order against a Virginia-based credit services provider assessing a $200,000 penalty and other remediation for making loans with improper disclosures. It was the CFPB’s second enforcement action against the company, as the Bureau had previously taken action against the company, requiring it, among other things, to revise its contract disclosures back in 2014. Under the terms of the consent order released this week, the company must hire an independent consultant with specialized experience in consumer-finance compliance to conduct an independent review of the company’s issuance and servicing of credit, and report to the CFPB a compliance plan based on the findings of such review. The Bureau also assessed a $200,000 civil monetary penalty.