This afternoon, the House of Representatives voted to overturn the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency’s “fake lender” rule, which allows predatory lenders to evade state interest rate laws by putting a federally-chartered bank’s name on the paperwork. The Senate passed the same resolution on May 11. It now heads to President Biden for […]
Author Archives: Allison Zieve
Countering assertions that student-loan forgiveness would primarily benefit wealthy people, a new study from the Roosevelt Institute determined that "student debt cancellation would provide more benefits to those with fewer economic resources and could play a critical role in addressing the racial wealth gap and building the Black middle class." The study, titled “Student Debt […]
Use of automatic subscriptions has exploded in recent years. Some companies make it easy to sign up but very difficult to cancel, and consumer complaints have piled up. The Washington Post reports, here, that the Federal Trade Commission is looking at ways to make it harder for companies to trap consumers in monthly subscription.
The Federal Trade Commission staff has provided its 2020 Annual Financial Acts Enforcement Report to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on its enforcement and related activities regarding the Truth in Lending Act, Consumer Leasing Act, and Electronic Fund Transfer Act. The report highlights the FTC’s enforcement actions related to automobile purchases and financing, payday lending, […]
The Washington Post reports: The Biden administration continues to defend lawsuits against the Education Department over Trump-era policies on student loans and career training regulation. Biden’s Education Secretary Miguel Cardona has begun dismantling his predecessor’s policies. The department this week lifted a ban on colleges providing emergency grants to undocumented and international students. It has […]
The Federal Trade Commission was busy yesterday. Operators of Student Loan Debt Relief Scheme Banned From Providing Debt Relief Services as Part of Settlement with FTC (May 17, 2021) FTC Announces Latest Enforcement Action Halting Deceptive CBD Product Marketing (May 17, 2021) FTC Data Shows Huge Spike in Cryptocurrency Investment Scams (May 17, 2021)
The U.S. Department of Education announced today that Richard Cordray will be its Chief Operating Officer of Federal Student Aid. Cordray is the former Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the former Attorney General of Ohio. Federal Student Aid is responsible for managing the student financial assistance programs authorized under Title IV of […]
In October 2020, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, one of the federal agencies that regulates banks, issued a rule that determines what national bank or federal savings association is considered the “true lender” in circumstances where a bank and a third party have a role in the loan. Many consumer advocates expressed […]
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau today issued an interim final rule in support of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s eviction moratorium. The CFPB’s rule requires debt collectors to provide written notice to tenants of their rights under the eviction moratorium and prohibits debt collectors from misrepresenting tenants’ eligibility for protection from eviction under […]
Cartoonist Matt Wuerker enlists consumer advocate Ralph Nader to help explain tort law in this 3-minute video from Politico.