InfoBytes Blog
Filter
Subscribe to our InfoBytes Blog weekly newsletter and other publications for news affecting the financial services industry.
CFPB Announces Healthcare Credit Card Enforcement Action Over Deferred-Interest Financing
On December 10, the CFPB released a consent order with a federal savings association, pursuant to which the bank will refund approximately $34 million to more than one million credit card holders who were enrolled in deferred-interest financing for healthcare services. The order does not include a civil penalty. The deferred-interest action is the first public action taken by the CFPB since it promised to scrutinize such products in its October credit card report.
The product at issue typically is offered by healthcare providers who offer personal lines of credit for healthcare services, including medical, dental, cosmetic, vision, and veterinary care. The CFPB alleges that the bank failed to sufficiently train healthcare providers to deliver material information about deferred-interest promotional periods associated with the credit cards, which led to consumers being misled during the enrollment process. The CFPB further claimed that healthcare providers improperly completed applications and submitted them on behalf of consumers, failed to provide consumers with copies of the credit card agreement, and, where disclosures were provided, those disclosures failed to adequately explain the deferred-interest promotion.
In addition to consumer redress, the order mandates certain terms of the bank’s contracts with medical providers offering the healthcare credit card. For example, the bank must incorporate specific “transparency principles” into its agreements with healthcare providers, and the contracts must prohibit certain charges. The bank also must enhance disclosures provided with the card application and billing statements, and improve training for healthcare providers offering the card. In addition, the order details consumer complaint resolution requirements, and prohibits certain incentive arrangements and paid endorsements. To date, the CFPB has not released the attachments to the consent order, which include, among other things, the transparency principles and disclosures.
The New York Attorney General entered into a similar agreement with the bank earlier this year. Under that agreement, the bank was likewise required to add a set of transparency principles to provider contracts to ensure that card terms were described accurately and to revise promotional interest rate options and other disclosures to better inform consumers’ use of the card.
CFPB Finalizes "Larger Participant" Rule For Student Loan Servicing, Updates Exam Procedures
On December 3, the CFPB issued a final rule that will allow the Bureau to supervise certain nonbank student loan servicers for the first time. The CFPB already oversees student loan servicing at the largest banks. The new rule will allow the Bureau to also oversee “larger participants” in federal and private loan servicing, defined as any nonbank student loan servicer that handles more than one million borrower accounts. The Bureau estimates that its final rule will allow supervision of the seven largest student loan servicers, responsible for servicing the loans of more than 49 million borrower accounts. The final rule takes effect on March 1, 2014.
Several commenters to the Bureau’s initial proposal requested further clarification of what constitutes an “account.” The final rule, like the proposed rule issued on March 28, 2013, considers each separate stream of fees to which a servicer is entitled for servicing post-secondary education loans with respect to a given student or prior student to be an account. Commenters also requested further clarification of the inclusions and exclusions implicit in this definition. The Bureau declined to make any substantive changes and instead adopted its proposed definitions with only technical changes.
The final rule does adopt several adjustments to the proposed definition of “student loan servicing.” The Bureau changed the proposed definition to address comments related to the use of a lockbox and similar services, agreeing that the function of merely receiving and remitting payments without handling borrowers’ accounts should not itself be considered “student loan servicing” for purposes of the final rule. The final rule also further clarifies that the purpose of an interaction with a borrower is important for determining whether it is “student loan servicing” and that activities to prevent default arising from post-secondary education loans are only included if conducted to facilitate the core servicing activities identified in the definition of “student loan servicing.” In addition, the Bureau adjusted the clause of the definition that addresses periods when payments are not required on the loan to make clear that it intends the clause to apply during all periods when no payment is required on a loan, including, for example, periods of forbearance.
The Bureau did not receive any objections to the proposed method of aggregating accounts of affiliated companies for the purpose of calculating volume and therefore adopts the aggregation method as proposed. The final rule also adopts the proposed threshold of one million accounts for the student loan servicing market, despite numerous comments requesting an alternate threshold for qualifying entities as “larger participants.”
On the same date, the CFPB released updated student loan examination procedures, which the Bureau revised to account for examination of nonbank servicers under the larger participant rule. In addition, the revised procedures prepare examiners to identify potential violations outside of consumer financial service laws applicable to servicers and administered by the CFPB, including potential violations of certain Servicemember Civil Relief Act (SCRA) requirements. The procedures also were revised to emphasize student loan servicing transfer and repayment issues, two issues the CFPB has highlighted as areas of concern over the past year.
Second Annual CFPB Ombudsman Report Recommends Exam Changes
On December 3, the CFPB Ombudsman’s Office submitted its second annual report to the Director of the CFPB. The report contains an update on the systemic recommendations made last year and new recommendations stemming from the Ombudsman’s review of (i) how the CFPB shares information, (ii) caller experience with the CFPB contact center, and (iii) the supervisory examination process. The Ombudsman’s recommendations relate primarily to further standardizing and clarifying what a financial entity may expect throughout the examination lifecycle and to ensuring industry and consumer access to CFPB information in a consistent and timely manner. According to the Ombudsman, the Bureau was receptive to all suggestions and feedback.
Specifically, the Ombudsman recommended that the CFPB cite to the examination manual in written communications to examinees; describe at the onset what the financial entity can expect to receive at the end of the examination process; provide updates on examination status at regular intervals after the onsite portion of examinations; and better inform financial entities about the methods available for elevating examination concerns. The Ombudsman also recommended that the CFPB add a digest to all updates to consumerfinance.gov, along with more user-friendly subscription “sign up” options; maintain a public events calendar and announce events with consistent minimal lead time; make basic information about the CFPB speaker request process more accessible; and explain to consumers contacting the CFPB contact center that providing an email address will result in consumer complaint notifications solely via email.
In addition, the report summarizes and identifies trends in the individual inquiries submitted to the Ombudsman during the review period. The majority of inquiries related to the consumer-complaint process, and more than half of the consumer complaints received concerned mortgages. The report also addresses growth within the Ombudsman’s Office since last year and the Ombudsman’s external outreach efforts and internal dialogue with CFPB leaders across divisions and offices.
CFPB Announces Arbitration Field Hearing
On December 2, the CFPB announced a field hearing on arbitration to be held in Dallas, Texas on Thursday, December 12. The event, which is open to members of the public who RSVP, will feature remarks from CFPB Director Richard Cordray, as well as testimony from consumer groups and industry representatives.
The CFPB has made policy announcements in connection with field hearings in the past and may release findings related to the arbitration study it commenced in early 2012. The CFPB expanded its arbitration review this year with a proposal to survey credit card holders and by exercising its authority under Dodd-Frank Act Section 1022 to order some companies to provide template consumer credit agreements.
Under Section 1028 of the Dodd-Frank Act, any exercise of rulemaking authority regarding arbitration agreements must be based on a finding—consistent with the study conducted—that the regulation is “in the public interest and for the protection of consumers.” While the CFPB may not yet be prepared to conduct a rulemaking on the use of such agreements, it is expected to begin releasing at least some results of its ongoing study.
Latest CFPB Rulemaking Agenda Adds Some New Initiatives, Updates Timelines For Others
On December 3, the CFPB released its fall 2013 rulemaking agenda, part of the broader government Unified Agenda initially published last week. The CFPB’s latest agenda pushes back the timelines on several key initiatives, but offers relatively few new initiatives. One notable exception is that the CFPB included planned activities related to a potential rule on overdraft products, which will build off of the CFPB’s overdraft white paper released earlier this year.
The CFPB agenda also indicates that the Bureau plans additional activities related to the mortgage rules issued earlier this year and updated throughout the year. For example, the agenda states the CFPB will consider additional guidance that would facilitate the development of automated underwriting systems for purposes of calculating debt-to-income ratios in connection with qualified mortgage determinations. Also, as expected, the CFPB plans to conduct further analysis to consider possible amendments to the definitions of "rural" and "underserved" for purposes of certain exemptions from the mortgage rules.
With regard to timelines, for example, “prerule activities” related to the eventual HMDA rule have again been delayed, with no public action expected before February 2014. Similarly, a proposed rule related to GPR prepaid cards now is expected no sooner than May 2014. The CFPB also promised to return to its prior efforts to streamline and modernize regulations that it inherited from other agencies, including the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act's annual privacy notice requirements.
CFPB Asks Student Loan Servicers About Payment Practices
On November 26, the CFPB sent a letter to student loan servicers offering them an opportunity to submit information about the options they make available to borrowers seeking to make extra payments on their private student loans. Last month, the CFPB recommended servicing policy changes and published a consumer advisory containing customizable, sample text that borrowers can electronically submit their servicers to indicate that they wish to allocate payments in excess of the amount due to their highest-rate loan in order to reduce their total interest paid. The Bureau states that it has since received inconsistent feedback from industry participants about the usefulness of this approach.
In response, the CFPB is now seeking additional information for use in responding to consumer inquiries and developing additional consumer education materials. The CFPB asks servicers to provide information about (i) the allocation of lump sum payments by the Department of Defense and other third parties on behalf of servicemembers or others seeking to direct lump-sum payments to specific loans; (ii) the percentage of borrower payments made through online bill pay systems and direct debit, and servicer practices related to borrower instructions provided with such payments; (iii) servicers’ ability to accommodate standing instructions for future excess payments; and (iv) the methods by which servicers communicate with borrowers about directing prepayments.
The CFPB plans to make the information its gathers public, but will not identify any particular servicer. Servicers that intend to voluntarily provide information in response to the Bureau’s requests are instructed to do so by December 17, 2013.
Special Alert: CFPB Finalizes Rule Combining TILA and RESPA Mortgage Disclosures
UPDATED OCTOBER 14, 2014: Updated to reflect amendments proposed by the CFPB on October 10, 2014.
On November 20, 2013, the CFPB finalized its long-awaited rule combining the mortgage disclosures consumers receive under the Truth in Lending Act (“TILA”) and the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (“RESPA”). For more than 30 years, the TILA and RESPA mortgage disclosures had been administered separately by, respectively, the Federal Reserve Board (“FRB”) and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (“HUD”). In 2010, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (“Dodd-Frank Act”) transferred authority over TILA and RESPA to the Bureau and directed the Bureau to create “rules and model disclosures that combine the disclosures required under [TILA] and sections 4 and 5 of [RESPA], into a single, integrated disclosure for mortgage loan transactions covered by those laws.” Congress did not, however, amend TILA and RESPA provisions governing timing, responsibility, and liability for the disclosures, leaving it to the Bureau to resolve the inconsistencies. The final rule generally applies to covered transactions for which the creditor or mortgage broker receives an application on or after August 1, 2015.
Click here to read our Special Alert. (Updated 10/15/14)
Questions regarding the matters discussed in this Alert may be directed to any of our lawyers listed below, or to any other BuckleySandler attorney with whom you have consulted in the past.
- Jeffrey P. Naimon, (202) 349-8030
- Clinton R. Rockwell, (310) 424-3901
- John P. Kromer, (202) 349-8040
- Joseph M. Kolar, (202) 349-8020
- Jeremiah S. Buckley, (202) 349-8010
CFPB Reports On Impacts Of Regulations For Banks
On November 22, the CFPB released findings of a study the Bureau conducted on the impact of certain deposit regulations on the day-to-day operations of banking institutions, focusing on compliance costs related to checking accounts, traditional savings accounts, debit cards, and overdraft programs. The study collected information from seven banks about activities related to compliance with regulations implementing the Truth in Savings Act, the Electronic Fund Transfer Act, the financial privacy requirements of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, and the Fair Credit Reporting Act (Regulations DD, E, P, and V, respectively), as well as FCRA’s adverse action requirements, which are not implemented by regulation. According to the Bureau, compliance costs were concentrated in the Operations, Information Technology, Human Resources, Compliance, and Retail functions, and banks incurred the most substantial costs complying with rules related to authorization rights, error resolution requirements, disclosure mandates, and advertising standards.
The report identifies the compliance-related activities that entailed the highest costs across business functions and suggests that “authorization rights” (i.e., opt-ins and opt-outs) and error-resolution requirements are the most costly to administer. The report also discusses the potential for the study—which the Bureau characterizes as representing “some of the most rigorous information currently available” on compliance costs—to advance research on the cost of compliance, influence the ultimate understanding of regulatory impacts on consumers and markets, and inform the CFPB’s ongoing efforts to avoid unnecessary compliance costs. The Bureau states that estimating the operational effects of consumer financial services regulation alone has “limited value to policymaking” and is mainly helpful in determining the impact of a specific regulation on product pricing and availability or market structure and competition. The Bureau concluded that research on the effects of regulations will remain an ongoing priority, but it will nevertheless continue to address problems observed in the marketplace — “mindful that, whatever the costs of regulation, the costs of not regulating adequately can be even larger.”
The full report, Understanding the Effects of Certain Deposit Regulations on Financial Institutions' Operations: Findings on Relative Costs for Systems, Personnel, and Processes at Seven Institutions, is available here.
CFPB Director Delivers Remarks On Nonbank Supervision, Payment Systems
On November 21, CFPB Director Richard Cordray delivered remarks at The Clearing House Annual Conference, including a review of the CFPB’s efforts to resolve concerns raised by the mortgage market through adoption of new mortgage rules and the objective of evenhanded oversight that is not dependent on charter choice or regulator. Mr. Cordray placed particular emphasis on the CFPB’s ability and efforts to “level the playing field” through its nonbank supervision program.
Notably, Director Cordray raised questions about recent efforts by other regulators and law enforcement authorities to investigate and take action against nonbank entities, like online payday lenders, by focusing on how these nonbanks get paid through bank payment systems. Cordray cautioned that, “[t]he focus of these . . . actions may create burdens that fall disproportionately on individual banks that are participants in the payment systems” and that the referenced approach “may not be the most efficient or effective approach.” Rather, Director Cordray suggested that further attention should be given to “how [payment] systems are designed and how they function for all of the institutions that participate in them.” The Director also expressed interest in working with the Clearing House to improve the CFPB’s understanding of using enhanced computer analytics and communications to identify patterns in payment systems, which he stated would better enable the CFPB to “identify and enforce the law against illegitimate firms that are otherwise able to reduce their own costs by hitching a free ride on the payments system,” as well as to consider necessary changes in law or practice.
CFPB Report Claims Financial Education Efforts Insufficient
On November 18, the CFPB published a report that examines the amount of money spent by financial institutions to inform and influence consumers’ decisions about financial products and services. The study analyzed spending over a one year period and found that financial institutions spend 25 times more money marketing financial products and services to consumers than on educating consumers about them, which the CFPB asserts highlights the need to improve consumers’ access to objective information. The report relays detailed findings about financial education spending across six major sectors and about annual spending on awareness advertising and direct marketing of financial products and services.