New York’s General Business Law section 399-zzz, enacted in 2011, prohibits businesses from charging extra fees to pay by mail or to receive a billing statement — but does not prohibit such businesses from ” offering consumers a credit or other incentive to elect a specific payment or billing option.” Customers of TD Bank sued […]
Category Archives: Other Lending, Debt, and Credit Issues
As part of its campaign to make America cruel again, the Trump Administration is reportedly considering an executive order that would require banks to verify citizenship information of current and future customers. The reports do not indicate the legal authority that the Administration would rely upon, or what problem this requirement would be addressing. Such […]
Several states have adopted laws creating Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) financing systems for certain residential energy and home improvement projects. Under these programs, a homeowner borrows money to finance the project, and the loan is repaid through an assessment on the homeowner’s property tax bill. The lender’s lien generally has priority over mortgage liens, […]
In Oliver v. Navy Federal Credit Union, decided today, the Fourth Circuit clarified both the procedure and substantive standards that govern when defendants ask a court to deny class certification before discovery. Oliver was a putative class action challenging Navy Federal’s underwriting process for loan applicants as racially discriminatory. Navy Federal moved to dismiss under Rule […]
In 2024, the Supreme Court decided Cantero v. Bank of America, unanimously vacating the Second Circuit’s decision finding a New York law on interest on escrow accounts for home mortgage loans preempted by the National Bank Act. At the same time, the Court granted, vacated, and remanded Kivett v. Flagstar Bank, a decision from the […]
The National Credit Union Administration has promulgated regulations regarding the applicability of state laws to federal credit unions, including 12 C.F.R. s. 701.35(c), which, after setting out how a federal credit union may may determine the types of fees affecting the maintenance of its accounts, provides: “State laws regulating such activities are not applicable to […]
Buy Now, Pay Later transactions (BNPL) are increasing dramatically. And for some folks, they are probably positive. But for others, BNPL can create significant problems. In case you don’t already know, the typical BNPL transaction enables consumers to purchase something by making four equal payments, one on the date of the purchase and the other […]
The notice arrived Saturday morning. Rohit Chopra’s tenure as director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau had ended — by the new administration — well short of the completion of his five-year term. The past week was filled with grumbling from various industry corners and inquiring journalists wondering why Chopra had not already been forced […]
Under Missouri law, lienholders must release their liens within 5 days after payment in full of any moneys owed. According to the plaintiff in a putative class action, Santander Consumer violates this law by waiting fifteen days to send the title after a borrower pays off a car loan. After Santander removed the case, a […]
Read “The Tribal Lending Industry Offers Quick Cash Online at Outrageous Interest Rates. Here’s How It’s Survived,” from ProPublica this week.