The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau yesterday published an advisory opinion affirming that the Equal Credit Opportunity Act—a federal civil rights law that protects individuals and businesses against discrimination in accessing and using credit—bars lenders from discriminating against customers after they have received a loan, not just during the application process. Read the press release and […]
We received the following Call for Papers: On April 6, 2022, in addition to announcing an extension of the federal student loan payment pause, the White House announced that the U.S. Department of Education is taking steps to give a fresh start to millions of struggling borrowers who are currently in default on their federal […]
The Federal Trade Commission filed a complaint last Friday against a company called The Credit Game, which claimed it could boost credit scores through “credit piggybacking” and other credit repair services. The FTC's complaint against the operators of The Credit Game (formerly called Wholesale Tradelines) says that the services were a scam and that the […]
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has finalized an enforcement action against Bank of America for processing illegal, out-of-state garnishment orders against customers’ bank accounts. The CFPB's press release, with links to relevant documents, is here.
After many months and multiple rounds of supplemental briefing in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decisions in Seila Law v. CFPB (2020) and Collins v. Yellen (2021), the en banc Fifth Circuit in CFPB v. All American Check Cashing finally decided—well, nothing. According to the 3-page, unsigned per curiam opinion issued by the court, […]
by Jeff Sovern Recently the CFPB announced that in conducting supervisory operations, it takes the position that discrimination is unfair and so violates the Consumer Financial Protection Act. You might think this is pretty straightforward: most of us would think odious discrimination is unfair. Discrimination easily qualifies as unfair under the statutory requirements of unfairness, […]
The Department of Education announced it will discharge the loans of tens of thousands of borrowers harmed by pervasive and widespread misconduct at Marinello Schools of Beauty. Borrowers who enrolled in the schools from 2009 through its closure in February 2016 will receive loan discharges totaling approximately $238 million. This group discharge includes former students […]
The Federal Trade Commission is proposing to extending protections against telemarketing tricks and traps to small businesses and strengthening safeguards against other pernicious telemarketing tactics aimed at consumers. That notice seeks comment on whether the FTC should amend the Telemarketing Sales Rule to prohibit misrepresentations in business-to-business calls, and whether the FTC should amend the […]
by Jeff Sovern Remember how Republicans complained how the CFPB was an unaccountable agency because its director could be fired only for cause? And then the Supreme Court ruled in Seila Law that the "for cause" removal limit was unconstitutional so that the president could fire the director without a showing of cause? You might […]
President Biden is reportedly looking at options to forgive most, if not all, federal student loan debt. He shared his plans during a 90-minute White House meeting Monday with members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. As CBS News reports, the move could affect more than 43 million borrowers who hold more than $1.6 trillion in […]