InfoBytes Blog
Filter
Subscribe to our InfoBytes Blog weekly newsletter and other publications for news affecting the financial services industry.
FTC Bans New York Debt Collector; Resolves 2015 "Operation Collection Protection" Action
On August 24, the FTC, in coordination with New York AG Schneiderman, announced that it issued a final order banning a debt collector and his four companies from the debt collection business. According to the order, the defendants engaged in deceptive and abusive debt collection practices in violation of the FTC Act, the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, and New York General Business Law. The final order resolves a 2015 Operation Collection Protection action alleging, among other things, that the defendants “regularly threatened, pressured, and harassed consumers into paying debts [they] did not owe,” continuing to “collect on these fake debts even after the supposed creditor notified them that the debts were bogus.” The final order imposes a judgment of more than $18.4 million, which will be partially suspended due to the defendants’ inability to pay. AG Schneiderman and the FTC issued a separate order to the owner’s ex-wife, imposing a $418,000 judgment, which also will be partially suspended.
FTC Announces Agenda for Consumer Disclosure Workshop
On September 15, the FTC will host a workshop titled “Putting Disclosures to the Test” to examine the effectiveness of consumer disclosures. Scheduled to take place in Washington, D.C., the full-day event will include an opening session devoted to how consumers process disclosures, and presentations on the following six topic areas: (i) methods and procedures for evaluating the effectiveness of disclosures; (ii) if and when consumers notice, read, or pay attention to disclosures; (iii) if consumers understand the information in disclosures; (iv) the impact of disclosures on consumers’ decisions and behavior; (v) case studies; and (vi) the future of disclosures, with emphasis on how to make them more efficient and effective. In addition to acknowledging the agency’s commitment to ensuring the use of effective, non-deceptive disclosures for advertisement purposes, the FTC highlighted the significance of effective disclosures in the privacy field and noted that it has “long encouraged the development and testing of shorter, clearer, easier-to-use privacy disclosures and consent mechanisms.”
Industry Groups Voice Concern that the CFPB's Arbitration Proposal Fails to Provide Protection for Consumers
On August 22, the American Bankers Association, the Consumer Banks Association, and the Financial Services Roundtable sent a letter to CFPB Director Cordray regarding the agency’s proposed arbitration rule. According to the Associations, the CFPB’s proposal seeking to impose certain restrictions on the use of mandatory pre-dispute arbitration clauses is inconsistent with the agency’s March 2015 study of consumer arbitration and fails to meet the Dodd-Frank requirements that it provide consumer protection and satisfy the public interest. Arguing that consumers will “truly suffer if the proposed rule becomes final,” the letter highlights the following concerns: (i) due to the “surge” of additional class actions, consumers, as tax payers, will be forced to pay for the increased costs to the court systems; (ii) as litigants, they will face backlogs as court systems experience delays in administering and resolving the class action suits; (iii) as customers of financial service providers, they will be subject to increased prices and/or reduced services because “the billions of dollars in class action litigation costs will be passed through them in whole or in part”; and (iv) consumers will lose the benefits of arbitration, including efficiency, convenience, and fewer costs. The Associations contend that the proposal, if passed, would be particularly restricting for small dollar “non-classable” claims. The Associations further their argument against the proposal by pointing to various inconsistencies with the conclusions outlined in the CFPB’s March 2015 study. Moreover, the letter asserts that the CFPB’s 2015 study was “incomplete” because it failed to address and analyze several key issues that would further demonstrate the proposed rule’s shortcomings with respect to public interest, including, among other things, consumer satisfaction with arbitration and the potential impact the removal of arbitration would have on consumers and the public. The Association’s recommendation that the CFPB not proceed with finalizing its proposal is one of many submitted to the agency, including a recent letter from various House Republicans expressing concern that the proposal “will choke off access to products and services that help consumers manage their creditworthiness, monitor changes in their credit reports, and protect themselves against identity theft.” The influx of comments on the proposal came at the close of its comment due date, August 22, 2016.
GSEs Release Redesigned Uniform Residential Loan Application
On August 23, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (GSEs) published a redesigned Uniform Residential Loan Application (URLA), the first substantial update to the standardized form used by borrowers applying for a residential loan in more than 20 years. The GSEs also released a redesigned Uniform Loan Application Dataset (ULAD) Mapping Document, used to “ensure consistency of data delivery.” The GSEs revised the URLA and ULAD by (i) redesigning the format to support better efficiency and more accurate data collection; (ii) including new and updated fields intended to “[c]apture loan application details that reflect today’s mortgage lending business and support both the GSEs’ and government requirements”; (iii) simplifying instructions; and (iv) incorporating revised HMDA demographic questions. The GSEs released FAQs about the redesigned URLA and ULAD, which will be available for lender use beginning January 1, 2018. Among other things, the FAQs note that (i) the GSEs will continue to support the URLA in paper form; and (ii) updates to the published documents may be required as a result of the CFPB’s review of the redesigned URLA in connection with the Regulation B safe harbor.
FHFA Announces New Refinance Offering for High LTV Borrowers; Extends HARP through September 2017
On August 25, FHFA announced that the GSEs will implement a new refinancing offering for borrowers having high LTVs who meet certain criteria. The new offering contains a number of similarities to the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP), including not subjecting eligible borrowers to a minimum credit score, not establishing a maximum debt-to-income ratio or maximum LTV, and often not requiring an appraisal. Dissimilarities from HARP include not imposing eligibility cut-off dates and allowing borrowers to use the offering more than once to refinance their mortgage. Borrowers will not have access to the new offering until October 2017. As such, the FHFA directed the GSEs to extend HARP through September 30, 2017, ensuring that “high LTV borrowers who are eligible for HARP will not be without a refinance option while the new refinance offering is being implemented."
FinCEN Issues Proposed Rule to Remove AML Exemption for Certain Banks
On August 26, FinCEN published a proposed rule that seeks to impose AML program requirements on banks that are without a Federal functional regulator, including, but not limited to, private banks, non-federally insured credit unions, and certain trust companies. FinCEN estimates that there are 740 such banks nationwide. The proposal would establish minimum AML program standards for such banks. In addition, if finalized, the proposed rule would expand the reach of FinCEN’s customer due diligence final rule to cover banks that are not already subject to the rule’s customer identification program requirements and beneficial ownership requirements. FinCEN issued the proposal to ensure that Bank Secrecy Act coverage is consistent across the industry. Comments on the proposal must be submitted to FinCEN by October 24, 2016.
Thomas Ott Named FinCEN's Associate Director of Enforcement
On August 16, FinCEN named Thomas P. Ott Associate Director for FinCEN’s Enforcement Division. In his new role, Ott will oversee the agency’s Bank Secrecy Act compliance and enforcement program. Ott’s responsibilities will include “developing and implementing compliance and enforcement strategies, supervising investigations, enforcement actions, and other activities that have industry-wide, national, and international impact.” Ott has served as FinCEN’s Acting Associate Director of Enforcement since March 2016.
Massachusetts AG and Division of Banks Seek Input on Debt Collection and Industry Regulation
On September 22, the Massachusetts Division of Banks (the Division) and AG Healey’s office will host an informational session to discuss the current state of debt collection and industry regulation in Massachusetts. The Division and AG Healey seek responses to questions regarding how the debt collection industry has changed in recent years; the industry’s organizational structure; licensing requirements for debt collectors and debt buyers; law firm involvement in debt collection activities; notification requirements regarding whether a debt has been sold; debt collection issues, including litigation-related problems, that consumers and industry members face; and how changes in federal laws and regulations governing debt collection practices should be reflected in Massachusetts’s regulations. Written responses and comments to the Division are due by October 21, 2016.
Special Alert: Department of Defense Issues Interpretive Rule Regarding Compliance with the Military Lending Act
Today, the Department of Defense (“DoD” or “Department”) published in the Federal Register an interpretive rule regarding compliance with its July 2015 amendments to the regulations implementing the Military Lending Act (“MLA”). The July 2015 amendments will extend the MLA’s 36% military annual percentage rate (“MAPR”) cap, ban on mandatory arbitration, and other limitations to a wider range of credit products—including open-end credit—offered or extended to active duty service members and their dependents (“covered borrowers”). Compliance is mandatory beginning on October 3, 2016, except that credit card issuers have until October 3, 2017 to comply. Additional BuckleySandler materials on the MLA amendments are available here, here, and here.
DoD stated that the interpretive rule “does not substantively change the [July 2015] regulation implementing the MLA, but rather merely states the Department’s preexisting interpretations of an existing regulation” and thus is effective immediately upon publication. The DoD also emphasized that the guidance provided in the rule “represent[s] official interpretations of the Department….”
Click here to view the full Special Alert.
* * *
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.
- Valerie L. Hletko, (202) 349-8054
- Manley Williams, (202) 349-8060
- Sasha Leonhardt, (202) 349-7971
- Andrew W. Grant, (202) 349-8056
CFPB Publishes Report on Student Loan Complaints, Issues Income-Driven Repayment Fix It Form
On August 18, the CFPB published a report to provide a midyear update on student loan complaints, focusing on “problems for borrowers who submit an application to enroll in or recertify income and family size under an income-driven-repayment (IDR) plan.” The report analyzes student borrower complaints related to IDR plans and offers recommendations to “address the challenges identified in [those] complaints.” The report analyzes complaints submitted from October 1, 2015 through May 31, 2016 and finds that “borrowers encounter obstacles when submitting applications for IDR plans, including poor customer service, unexpected delays, lost paperwork, and inconsistent or inaccurate application processing.” The CFPB recommends that student loan servicers take “immediate action” to address challenges with IDR processing, highlighting the policy guidance recently issued by the Department of Education as a “roadmap to strengthen practices related to the handling of IDR applications” and releasing an IDR Application Fix It Form (Fix It Form). Developed by the CFPB, the Fix It Form is a prototype that can be adopted by servicers seeking to adopt the recommendations in the report and is designed to “document[] any deficiencies with borrowers’ IDR applications and communicates to borrowers about how to address the deficiencies and get their applications back on track.”