The FTC reported yesterday 7,979 checks averaging $27.42 each to consumers who bought "Wal-Born" dietary supplements sold by the pharmacy chain Walgreens are now being mailed. The FTC’s press release explains: In 2010, Walgreens settled FTC charges that it deceptively advertised that the supplements could effectively prevent colds, fight germs, and boost the immune system. […]
Author Archives: Allison Zieve
On August 6, New York's financial regulatory agency took aim at online payday lenders, who "offer short-term loans at interest rates that often exceed 500 percent annually." As the New York Times reported, the state's financial regulator sent letters to 35 of the online lenders, instructing them to “cease and desist” from offering loans that […]
The Blog of LegalTimes reports: When Morgan Drexen Inc. found itself in the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's crosshairs, the company, which works with law firms to provide debt relief services to consumers, initiated a response that's proving to be both unusually aggressive and public. The CFPB filed suit against the company earlier this week in […]
The Washington Post reports that the Justice Department "has issued subpoenas to banks and other companies that handle payments for an array of financial offerings, ramping up an investigation that has been under way for several months." The investigation reportedly is focusing on companies that process payments for online payday lenders. Read the full story.
The Washington Post reports today: Traders at Bank of America willfully misled investors about the quality of the residential mortgages tucked into the securities the bank sold at the start of the financial crisis, according to separate lawsuits filed Tuesday by the Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission. . . . Justice claims […]
The New York Times reports today that the City of Richmond, California is considering using eminent domain to buy mortgages and reduce homeowner debt. The banks don't like the idea. The article explains: [R]oughly half of all homeowners with mortgages in Richmond are underwater, meaning they owe more — in some cases three or four […]
Federal agencies recently published their agendas of regulatory matters on which they expect to work from May 2013 through May 2014. (The July 3 publication is actually a delayed "spring" regulatory agenda.) The agenda of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is available here. It lists 8 regulations that the agency expects to finalize during the […]
From today's FTC press release: The Federal Trade Commission told a U.S. Senate subcommittee that it continues to crack down on unlawful debt collection practices through an active program of vigorous law enforcement, education and public outreach, and research and policy initiatives. Testifying on behalf of the FTC before the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, […]
Senators have apparently reached a deal to allow a vote — today — on the nomination of Richard Cordray to had the CFPB. Majority Leader Harry Reid had threatened to change Senate rules to end filibusters on executive branch nominees if Republican Senators did not allow votes on Cordray and other executive branch nominees. Under […]
Following up on Brian's post early this morning about a failed Senate bill that would have rolled back the student-loan interest rate that doubled earlier this month: CNN is reporting that a "bipartisan groups of senators have reached a tentative deal to help students facing the doubled interest rate."