Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
A destination firm for entities engaged in CFPB investigations.Legal 500
Practice Overview
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau — an agency focused on protecting consumers of financial products and services — has become a preeminent financial regulator in its first decade of existence. It is endowed with extensive powers to write rules, supervise financial institutions and their service providers, and enforce a broad range of federal laws.
Buckley attorneys have helped clients navigate all facets of CFPB regulation and oversight since its inception. Our firm has advised on hundreds of CFPB-related matters that relate to policy, rulemaking, supervision, investigation, and enforcement. These matters have run the gamut on industries, products, and practices, and have included mortgage lending and servicing, auto finance, credit bureau reporting, debt collection, overdraft programs, deposit products, payment cards, student lending and servicing, credit card origination and servicing, alternative finance, fintech, and telecommunications, among others.
Buckley attorneys routinely:
- Provide clear and practical regulatory advice for navigating consumer financial protection laws and regulations
- Draft comment letters on proposed rulemakings
- Prepare clients for routine and special examinations, including conducting mock examinations
- Assist clients with matters that arise during bureau examinations, including responses to first-day letters, follow-on requests, and presentations to the CFPB
- Draft responses to official CFPB supervisory communications, such as fact verification letters, Potential Supervisory Action (PSA) letters, and Potential Action and Request for Response (PARR) letters
- Defend clients in investigations and enforcement actions, handling civil investigative demands (CIDs), investigational hearings, and Notice and Opportunity to Respond and Advise letters (NORA) letters, through to the resolution of enforcement matters
- Facilitate interactions with the CFPB Office of Innovation, including assisting with the No Action Letter process
As federal and state regulators increasingly coordinate oversight and investigation, Buckley attorneys assist clients in matters in which the CFPB leads or joins investigations that also involve state attorney generals or prudential regulators. Many of these matters remain confidential. Some of the representations we can disclose, whether specifically or generally, include:
- Represented Flagstar Bank in the first CFPB enforcement action of its mortgage servicing rules that was based, in part, on allegations of unfair acts and practices and resulted in an administrative consent order settlement for $37.5 million relating to default servicing loss-mitigation practices
- Represented a credit card issuer in the second CFPB enforcement action, issued jointly with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, in which the agencies alleged deceptive marketing and sales practices related to add-on products
- Preparing comment letters on behalf of the Consumer Bankers Association, Financial Services Roundtable, and Mortgage Bankers Association to provide feedback to the CFPB on their rulemaking, examination, and enforcement practices
- Representing BSI Financial Services in a settlement with the CFPB alleging violations of mortgage servicing laws
- Conducting a mock examination for a top-20 depository institution in advance of mortgage origination and servicing examinations
- Representing Enova in a settlement with the CFPB alleging the company debited consumer bank accounts without first obtaining authorization, and failed to honor loan extensions granted to consumers
- Representing Verizon Wireless in a settlement with the CFPB, Federal Communications Commission (FCC), and 51 state attorneys general alleging that the company permitted third parties to place unauthorized charges on consumers’ wireless telephone bills
- Representing various student loan companies in investigations initiated by the CFPB and state regulators, including matters closed without further action
- Representing one of the largest consumer credit reporting agencies in a CFPB enforcement action alleging unfair, deceptive, or abusive acts or practices and Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) violations relating to the marketing of credit score monitoring products to consumers and the use of negative option billing
- Represented numerous institutions in the CFPB’s investigations into alleged deceptive marketing and sales practices related to its add-on products, including a major credit card lender, a major jewelry finance company, and First National Bank of Omaha
- Represented a money transmitter in a multiyear CFPB examination and enforcement initiative related to the company’s remittance transfer business and compliance with Regulation E’s Remittance Transfer Rule
A destination firm for entities engaged in CFPB investigations.Legal 500
Articles
"Scrutiny over dark patterns presents further challenges in online contracting" by Sherry-Maria Safchuk, Edward W. Somers, and Melina W. Montellanos (CSLR)
The Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce (ESIGN) Act and its state analogue, the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (UETA), have played a transformative role advancing e-com- merce in the United States for more than two decades. Provisions of the ESIGN Act contain safe- guards...
Articles"How Cos. can ease risk amid 'dark pattern' regulatory focus" by Elizabeth E. McGinn, Sherry-Maria Safchuk, and Melina W. Montellanos (Law360)
Federal and state regulators, legislators, and courts have increased their focus on dark patterns — web and mobile design elements that shepherd users to make decisions, often not in their best interest. To avoid consumer dissatisfaction, as well as legal and regulatory risk, companies should...
Articles"U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit finds Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s funding unconstitutional. Now what?" by John R. Coleman, Marshall T. Bell, and Jeffrey P. Naimon (JFAA)
A panel of three Fifth Circuit judges has unanimously held that the CFPB funding structure created by Congress violated the Appropriations Clause of the Constitution, which provides that “no money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law.” The panel ruled...
ArticlesSpecial Alert: Fifth Circuit finds CFPB funding unconstitutional — Now what?
The Fifth Circuit ruled last night in CFSA v. CFPB that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s funding structure is unconstitutional, triggering a potential wave of implications discussed below. The holdings A panel of three Fifth Circuit judges unanimously held that the CFPB funding structure...
Special Alerts"How to navigate a CFPB administrative proceeding" by John R. Coleman (The Review of Banking & Financial Services)
After a slow start, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB” or “Bureau”) Director Rohit Chopra’s enforcement program appears to be gaining steam. The CFPB has aggressively enforced federal consumer financial law during its short history, with an average of more than 30 public enforcement...
Articles"CFPB revises UDAAP manual to include discriminatory practices" by Sasha Leonhardt, Jeffrey P. Naimon, and John R. Coleman (The Banking Law Journal)
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) has announced significant revisions to its Unfair, Deceptive, or Abusive Acts or Practices (“UDAAP”) exam manual, in particular highlighting the CFPB’s view that its broad authority under UDAAP allows it to address discriminatory conduct in the...
Articles"9th Circ. FCRA ruling highlights furnishers' role in disputes" by Sasha Leonhardt and Cierra D. Newman (Law360)
In recent years, consumers have raised a variety of arguments to dispute negative information on their consumer reports — in some instances, raising not only factual questions about the existence or amount of a debt, but also more complex questions about whether a debt is legally permitted under...
Articles"Mortgage regulation developments: Qualified mortgage updates and Covid-19 assistance" by Sasha Leonhardt (ABA)
Throughout the past year, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) continued to actively issue rules and other guidance applicable to the mortgage industry. This survey highlights recent developments related to qualified mortgages (“QM”), specifically the publication of four final rules...
Articles"Finance cos. should brace for wider CFPB anti-bias reach" by Caroline M. Stapleton (Law360)
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau recently raised eyebrows when it broadly expanded the legal theories under which it will seek to challenge illegal discrimination in the financial services industry. The CFPB announced on March 16 that it revised its examination manual to identify...
Articles"Saber-rattling or fair warning: CFPB Director Rohit Chopra signals intent to bring enforcement actions against executives and employees of large banks" by John R. Coleman (ABA Banking Law Committee Journal)
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has never brought a claim against an executive, officer, or managerial employee of a large bank alleging that the individual participated in unlawful conduct. Over a quarter of the CFPB’s more than 300 public enforcement actions to date have included...
Articles"BankThink: Has CFPB gained an upper hand in enforcement cases?" by Amanda R. Lawrence and John B. Williams III (American Banker)
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in late February issued a procedural rule with little fanfare or press that nonetheless may mark a significant strategic shift in how the agency pursues enforcement — and give it more latitude in tackling what appears to be an increasingly crowded...
Articles"FTC updates data security expectations for nonbanks" by Elizabeth E. McGinn, Amanda R. Lawrence, Sherry-Maria Safchuk, Lauren Bomberger (Bloomberg Law)
Persistent cyberbreaches are compelling government responses to protect consumer data, particularly consumer financial information. Laws passed in California, Colorado, and Virginia are among the most influential at the state level, but federal regulators are also moving to implement additional...
Articles"New 9th Circ. rulings may restrict McGill Rule's scope" by Fredrick S. Levin, James McGuire, Ali M. Abugheida, and Megan E. Whitehill (Law360)
In the 2017 McGill v. Citibank NA decision, the California Supreme Court held that any arbitration clause that bars a plaintiff from seeking public injunctive relief in any forum is unenforceable. The so-called McGill rule has become a central feature of the California arbitration landscape, and...
Articles"Incorporating safeguards for CFPB info request targets" by John R. Coleman (Law360)
The U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced recently that it ordered several large technology companies to submit detailed information concerning their payment products, including how they collect, use and share data about consumers who use their products. The information demand is...
Articles"Chopra confirmed as CFPB director: What to expect" by John R. Coleman
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau under the leadership of Rohit Chopra appears poised to pursue an aggressive enforcement posture and test the limits of its authority in pursuit of broad market change. But the headline-grabbing enforcement actions expected under Chopra, whom the Senate...
Buckley Commentary & AnalysisSpecial Alert: CFPB proposes small business loan data collection regime
Over a decade ago, Congress enacted an amendment to the Equal Credit Opportunity Act that directed the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to implement a new regime for small business loan data collection similar to the regime that exists in the mortgage industry. Last week, a month before a court...
Special AlertsSpecial Alert: CFPB specifies pandemic foreclosure protections and signals tight supervision and enforcement around servicer efforts
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Covid-relief mortgage servicing rule issued yesterday steered away from a nationwide foreclosure freeze as initially proposed, instead creating heightened protections for those borrowers who became seriously delinquent during the pandemic. The distinction...
Special Alerts"Opinion: How mortgage servicers can prepare for a crackdown from the CFPB” by Sasha Leonhardt, Jon David D. Langlois, and David McGee (National Mortgage News)
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is drawing a line in the sand for the mortgage servicing industry with new guidance and proposed revisions to its mortgage servicing rules. The CFPB expects that the impending expiration of federal foreclosure and forbearance protections for mortgagees will...
ArticlesSpecial Alert: CFPB proposes to halt foreclosure starts from August 31 until 2022 and create new loss mitigation requirements for servicers
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on April 5 issued a proposal that would broadly halt foreclosure initiations on principal residences from August 31, 2021 until 2022, and change servicing rules to promote consumer awareness and processing of Covid-relief loss mitigation options. Although...
Special Alerts
News & Blogs
CFPB releases data on pandemic credit scores
On January 25, the CFPB released a blog post on credit score transitions during the Covid-19 pandemic. Using data available to the Bureau, the agency examined the transitions of consumers across credit score tiers using a commercially available credit score. According to the Bureau, the data used...
InfoBytesBiden administration releases Renters Bill of Rights
On January 25, the Biden administration announced new actions for enhancing tenant protections and furthering fair housing principles, which align with the administration’s Blueprint for a Renters Bill of Rights that was released the same day. The Blueprint and fact sheet lay out several new...
InfoBytesCFPB seeks feedback on credit cards
On January 24, the CFPB issued a notice and request for information (RFI) seeking public feedback on several aspects of the consumer credit card market in accordance with Section 502(b) of the Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009 (CARD Act). The CARD Act was enacted...
InfoBytesCalifornia: TILA does not preempt state laws on commercial financial disclosure
On January 20, California Attorney General Rob Bonta sent a comment letter to CFPB Director Rohit Chopra in response to a preliminary determination issued by the Bureau in December, which concluded that commercial financial disclosure laws in four states (New York, California, Utah, and Virginia)...
InfoBytesCFPB says servicers should suggest sales over foreclosures for some borrowers
On January 20, the CFPB encouraged mortgage servicers to advise homeowners struggling to pay their mortgages that a traditional sale may be better than foreclosure. The Bureau reported that due to the Covid-19 pandemic many homeowners are facing foreclosure, especially consumers who were delinquent...
InfoBytesRespondents urge Supreme Court to wait on CFPB funding review
On January 13, respondents filed a brief in opposition to a petition for a writ of certiorari filed by the CFPB last November, which asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review whether the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit erred in holding that the Bureau’s funding structure violates the...
InfoBytesCFPB updates Mortgage Servicing Examination Procedures
On January 18, the CFPB released an updated version of its Mortgage Servicing Examination Procedures , detailing the types of information examiners should gather when assessing whether servicers are complying with applicable laws and identifying consumer risks. The examination procedures, which...
InfoBytesCFPB: Negative option marketing practices could violate the CFPA
On January 19, the CFPB released Circular 2023-01 to reiterate that companies offering “negative option” subscription services are required to comply with federal consumer financial protection laws. According to the Circular, “‘negative option’ [marketing] refers to a term or condition under which...
InfoBytesCFPB reports on servicemember identity theft
On January 12, the CFPB released an Issue Spotlight discussing identity theft affecting servicemembers. According to the report , servicemembers, veterans, and military family members are more likely to report identity theft than civilians, with military consumers reporting almost 50,000 cases of...
InfoBytesCFPB says EFTA applies to pandemic assistance prepaid cards
On January 10, the CFPB filed an amicus brief in a case before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit concerning the scope of accounts covered under EFTA and Regulation E. (See also CFPB blog post here .) As previously covered by InfoBytes , last August the U.S. District Court for the...
InfoBytes
Press Releases & Announcements
Legal 500 2020 recognizes 21 Buckley attorneys in six practice areas
“Buckley attorneys are incredibly responsive while providing top quality legal services,” is how respondents described the firm in the 2020 edition of Legal 500, which ranked Buckley as a top law firm and recognized it in six categories:
- Corporate Investigations and White ...
Buckley files amicus brief in CFPB constitutionality case
Buckley LLP on Dec. 16 filed an amicus brief on behalf of the Mortgage Bankers Association, the National Association of Home Builders, and the National Association of...
AnnouncementsThe Legal 500 2019 recognizes 17 Buckley attorneys in five practice areas
The Legal 500 once again ranked Buckley as a top law firm and recognized it in five categories:
- Corporate Investigations and White Collar Criminal Defense: Corporate – Tier 4
- Corporate Investigations and White Collar Criminal Defense: Individuals – Tier 2 ...
The Legal 500 2018 recognizes five practice areas and 17 attorneys at Buckley Sandler
Buckley Sandler LLP again has been noted as one of the nation’s top law firms by The Legal 500 in its 2018 rankings, with recognition in five practice areas:
- Financial Services: Litigation
- Financial Services: Regulation
- Corporate ...
Buckley Sandler Issues Second Edition of CFPB Mortgage Origination Rules Deskbook
Buckley Sandler today announced the publication of the second edition of the CFPB Mortgage Origination Rules Deskbook. Produced in partnership with the American Bankers Association, the book is the definitive guide for bank and nonbank mortgage originators navigating the Consumer...
AnnouncementsThe Legal 500 2017 Recognizes Four Practice Areas and 20 Attorneys at Buckley Sandler
Buckley Sandler has again been cited as one of the nation’s top law firms by The Legal 500 in its 2017 rankings, with the recognition of four practice areas:
- Financial Services: Litigation
- Financial Services: Regulatory
- Cyber Law (Data Protection and ...
BuckleySandler Hosts Eighth Annual Fair Lending Today Conference
BuckleySandler LLP hosted its eighth annual Fair Lending Today conference in Washington, DC on March 13-14, 2016. The two-day event featured an evening of interactive roundtable discussions on fair lending issues, followed by a full day of seminars. The sessions were led by BuckleySandler attorneys...
Press ReleasesBuckley Sandler Files Amicus Curiae Brief on Behalf of Industry Group in RESPA Case; Marks First Appeal Against CFPB Director Decision
On October 5, 2015, Buckley Sandler attorneys filed an amicus curiae brief on behalf of the Consumer Mortgage Coalition (CMC) in the first case to come up on appeal to the District of Columbia Circuit since the CFPB was founded in 2011. In the CMC’s brief, Buckley Sandler attorneys argued that the...
Press ReleasesBuckley Sandler & American Bankers Association Release CFPB Mortgage Origination Deskbook
WASHINGTON, D.C. (October 9, 2014) – Buckley Sandler LLP , a leading financial services and criminal and civil enforcement defense law firm, is pleased to announce the availability of “The New CFPB Mortgage Origination Rules Deskbook.” Published in partnership with the American Bankers Association...
Press Releases
Our Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Team
Partners
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FYI
"FTC updates data security expectations for nonbanks" by Elizabeth E. McGinn, Amanda R. Lawrence, Sherry-Maria Safchuk, Lauren Bomberger (Bloomberg Law)
"New 9th Circ. rulings may restrict McGill Rule's scope" by Fredrick S. Levin, James McGuire, Ali M. Abugheida, and Megan E. Whitehill (Law360)
"Incorporating safeguards for CFPB info request targets" by John R. Coleman (Law360)
"Chopra confirmed as CFPB director: What to expect" by John R. Coleman
Special Alert: CFPB proposes small business loan data collection regime
Recent Blog Posts
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January 27, 2023
CFPB releases data on pandemic credit scores
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January 27, 2023
Biden administration releases Renters Bill of Rights
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January 27, 2023
CFPB seeks feedback on credit cards
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January 27, 2023
California: TILA does not preempt state laws on commercial financial disclosure
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January 26, 2023
CFPB says servicers should suggest sales over foreclosures for some borrowers