Category Archives: Uncategorized

New Experian tool will let consumers create their own credit reports

Experian is introducing a program that will allow consumers to create their own credit reports from scratch, the Wall Street Journal reports (subscription required). Fast Company explains: “The program, called Go, will involve customers linking ‘recurring nondebt bills’ (think cell phone payments, utility bills, or even bank accounts just generally) to provide the foundation on […]

CFPB request for information on fees imposed by providers of consumer financial products

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau today issued a request for information as it considers reducing “exploitative junk fees charged by banks and financial companies.” As examples of the fees it is examining, the agency lists “back-end fees might obscure the true cost of a product and undermine a competitive market,” such as “resort” or “service” […]

CFPB to examine colleges’ in-house lending practices

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will be examining the operations of post-secondary schools, such as for-profit colleges, that extend private loans directly to students. The agency explained: "The CFPB is issuing an update to its exam procedures including a new section on institutional student loans. As the CFPB begins its supervision, the exam procedures inform […]

Diversity at the Federal Reserve is related to lending practices

Read Board Diversity Matters: An Empirical Assessment of Community Lending at Federal Reserve by profs Brian Feinstein, Peter Conti-Brown, and Kaleb Nygaard. Here is the abstract: This working paper shows that the increased presence of minority directors on the twelve regional Federal Reserve Banks — the quasi-governmental entities responsible for evaluating many commercial banks’ lending […]

Navient required to cancel $1.7 billion in student loans

CNBC reports that Navient, one of the largest student loan servicers, will cancel $1.7 billion in private student loans under a settlement with 39 states. The settlement, announced yesterday, resulted from accusations the lender gave out loans to millions of borrowers who would be unlikely to be able to repay them. The article is here.

Ninth Circuit says BMW can’t force arbitration based on arbitration clause in purchase agreement between the consumer and the car dealership

Here's the first paragraph of yesterday's decision in Ngo v. BMW North America In 2012, Kim Ngo bought a new BMW 535i sedan from Peter Pan Motors, Inc, a car dealership. Because the dealership financed Ngo’s purchase, they entered into a purchase agreement which contained an arbitration clause. As a result of alleged defects with […]