Regulatory Agencies

The DFPI issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, the comment period for which closes on July 5, 2022.  The NPR relates to obligating covered persons to implement and maintain a process for consumers to make complaints and for covered persons to respond to them.  The Notice is here (PRO-03-21-Notice-of-Proposed-Rulemaking-5-17-22 and the Proposed Regulations can be found here https://dfpi.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/337/2022/05/PRO-03-21-Draft-Text-CCFPL-Complaints-5-2-22.pdf In the Statement of… Read More

In Consumer Fin. Prot. Bureau v. CashCall, Inc., Nos. 18-55407, 18-55479, 2022 U.S. App. LEXIS 13810, at *23-25 (9th Cir. May 23, 2022), the Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit rejected CashCall's argument that the Native American Tribal Lender, and not CashCall was the true lender for purposes of determining whether state usury law applied. In substance, all of… Read More

The DFPI announced that it continues to have delays in processing applications.  Debt Collector Licensing – Update on Processing Delays  In conjunction with the notice, the DFPI have also updated the Questions & Answers on their webpage at https://dfpi.ca.gov/debt-collection-licensee/. Read More

On October 27, 2021, the Federal Trade Commission ("FTC") announced important updates to the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act's (the "Act") primary consumer protection rules. Enacted in 1999, the Act implemented regulations on financial institutions with regard to consumer privacy and data security concerns. It includes two primary parts, or "rules": the Privacy Rule and the Safeguards Rule. The Privacy Rule limits disclosure… Read More

The CFPB announced that as part of its overall CMS assessment, the CFPB may evaluate the technology controls of an institution and its service providers. Institutions within the scope of the CFPB’s supervision and enforcement authority include both depository institutions and non-depository consumer financial services companies. These institutions operate in a dynamic environment influenced by challenges to profitability, increased focus on… Read More

In Ftc v. Credit Bureau Ctr., No. 17 C 194, 2021 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 173180, at *3-7 (N.D. Ill. Sep. 13, 2021), Judge Kennelly allowed the FTC to amend its judgment to preserve a restitution award on an alternative legal theory after SCOTUS held in AMG Cap. Mgmt. that section 13(b) of the FTC Act did not afford a right… Read More

On August 19, 2021, the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation issued a request for comments as it considers a second rulemaking related to the Debt Collection Licensing Act. The first rulemaking, issued earlier this year relates to the license application process and requirements for debt collectors who may begin to apply for a debt collection license starting in… Read More

Today, the CFPB Announced that the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council ("FFIEC") issued a new booklet in the FFIEC Information Technology Examination Handbook series, titled “Architecture, Infrastructure, and Operations.”  The CFPB noted that the booklet provides expanded guidance to help financial institution examiners assess the risk profile and adequacy of an entity’s information technology architecture, infrastructure, and operations.  Implied in… Read More

In FTC v. Am. Future Sys., No. 20-2266, 2021 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 83401, at *3-4 (E.D. Pa. Apr. 30, 2021), Judge Slomsky allowed the FTC to proceed on unfair debt collection claims against a debt collection agency collecting on business related education and publication debts. On May 13, 2020, the FTC initiated this action against American Future Systems, Inc. ("AFS"),… Read More

California’s Department of Financial Protection and Innovation has filed a notice of proposed rulemaking on April 23, 2021 for the Debt Collection Licensing Act (DCLA). The proposed regulations are to be added in Title 10, California Code of Regulations, Subchapter 11.3 “Debt Collection Licensing Act.” A copy of the proposed rulemaking text is here. The proposed regulations cover: requirements to… Read More

In Amg Capital Mgmt. v. FTC, No. 19-508, 2021 U.S. LEXIS 2108, at *1-4 (Apr. 22, 2021), the Supreme Court held that the FTC Act does not authorize the FTC to seek monetary restitution in a suit that the FTC brings in the first instance (i.e., without a prior administrative proceeding) in federal court under section 13(b) of the FTC… Read More

The CFPB issued an interim final rule that is effective May 3, 2021 to address certain debt collector conduct associated with an eviction moratorium issued by the CDC. The rule provides that debt collectors, as defined in the FDCPA, are required to provide written notice to certain consumers of their protections under the CDC Order’s eviction moratorium. Also, debt collectors… Read More

Although on April 7, 2021, the CFPB proposed to delay the October 2020 and December 2020 Debt Collection Rules by 60 days, on April 16, 2021, the CFPB moved forward with its earlier stated plan to update the small entity compliance guide to include the December 2020 Debt Collection Rule. The update guide is available here. As discussed earlier with… Read More

The FTC today issued a press release on whether the FTC Holder Rule applies to large transactions. The staff of the Federal Trade Commission has issued a note correcting previous staff guidelines on the FTC’s Trade Regulation Rule Concerning Preservation of Consumers’ Claims and Defenses—commonly known as the Holder Rule. The Holder Rule protects consumers who enter into credit contracts… Read More

On April 7, 2021, the federal CFPB issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to delay by 60 days the effective date of two final rules issued under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). Both debt collection rules were scheduled to become effective on November 30, 2021 and the CFPB is proposing to extend the effective date of both… Read More

On February 4, 2021, the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (formerly DBO) issued an invitation for comments from stakeholders for rulemaking under the California Consumer Financial Protection Law (CCFPL), which became effective January 1, 2021. As previously discussed, for “covered persons” the CCFPL includes a broad list of prohibited conduct, including engaging in “unlawful, unfair, deceptive, or abusive… Read More

We previously posted about California’s new Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (“DFPI”) (formerly Department of Business Oversight) and some of its new powers to regulate debt collectors and other financial institutions under the Debt Collection Licensing Act and California Consumer Financial Protection Law (“CFPL”) (also known as the mini-CFPB). Both laws took effect on January 1, 2021. While the… Read More

On January 15, 2021, the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued a small entity compliance guide summarizing the October 2020 debt collection rule. The small entity compliance guide is available here. Earlier, the October 2020 debt collection rule amended Regulation F to implement most of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act’s (FDCPA), including, among other things, communications in connection with… Read More

In Paypal, Inc. v. Consumer Fin. Prot. Bureau, No. 19-3700 (RJL), 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 244761 (D.D.C. Dec. 30, 2020), Judge Leon held that the CFPB’s Pre-Paid Card Rule exceeded the CFPB’s authority because Congress neither authorized it to require mandatory short forms nor permitted it to create a substantive restriction on a consumer's access to and use of credit under… Read More

On the heels of the October 2020 Debt Collection Final Rule issued by the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau (CFPB), on December 18, 2020, the CFPB issued an additional final rule implementing the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. The December 2020 final rule and an executive summary are available here: https://www.consumerfinance.gov/compliance/compliance-resources/other-applicable-requirements/debt-collection/. The December 2020 final rule primarily addresses the (1) requirements… Read More