| 1. |
Acting leadership at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced a list of 39 guidance materials to be rescinded, including several applicable to mortgage originators and servicers issued since the CFPB assumed its functions in 2011.
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| 2. |
During the last week of Rohit Chopra’s tenure as director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the agency ordered the international remittance company Wise to pay almost $2.5 million to settle claims it had misled U.S. consumers about a variety of fees and failed to issue timely refunds when warranted.
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| 3. |
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau proposed a narrow amendment to its remittance transfer rule intended to provide consumers with a clearer understanding of the various disclosure requirements for certain international money transfers. The bureau is seeking comments from industry stakeholders about the proposed revisions.
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| 4. |
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau raised eyebrows when it submitted an amicus brief in a lawsuit filed by the New York attorney general against Citibank, arguing banks are liable for wire fraud under the Electronic Funds Transfer Act. The amicus has raised eyebrows among banking advocates who view the move as the bureau essentially asking a federal court to rewrite the law.
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| 5. |
Warning against the use of fine print claiming to limit certain consumer rights and protections, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued a circular advising financial institutions that including such terms and conditions in consumer contracts, including mortgage agreements, may violate the Consumer Financial Protection Act.
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| 6. |
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is cautioning remittance providers to refrain from deceptive marketing tactics regarding the cost or speed at which consumers can expect such transactions to be executed. The bureau released a new circular on remittance transfers to explain how some companies charge fees on international money transfers and make misleading claims about processing times in an apparent attempt to justify the charges.
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| 7. |
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is ordering Chime Inc., which operates under the name Sendwave, to provide redress for deceiving consumers about the cost and speed of remittances through its Sendwave mobile application. In addition to one charge of violating the Consumer Financial Protection Act, the bureau has accused the nonbank fintech of multiple violations of the Electronic Fund Transfer Act.
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| 8. |
As a result of supervisory work by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to address consumer payment obligations it refers to as “junk fees,” companies have returned $140 million to consumers. Approximately $120 million was for surprise overdraft fees and double-dipping on fees charged for non-sufficient funds. The CFPB has taken a decidedly hardline approach when it comes to fees the bureau deems illegal and that place unreasonable barriers in front of consumers when trying to access basic in...
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| 9. |
MoneyGram has accused the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau of “naked forum shopping” in a motion to transfer jurisdiction of the case to a Texas federal court. The criticism is derived from the CFPB’s recent interpretive rule allowing for greater ties between the bureau and states’ consumer financial protection law enforcement actions. Read on for more details.
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| 10. |
In 2012, Ripple Labs developed XRP, a cryptocurrency meant to facilitate international transactions. In December 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) brought suit against Ripple and two of its executives for selling XRP, which the SEC classified as an unregistered security. Since then, a legal battle has been ongoing that many experts see as being a watershed case for crypto regulation. Read on for more details.
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| 11. |
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has joined the New York Attorney General’s Office in suing MoneyGram for alleged repeated violations of federal law. CFPB Director Rohit Chopra had previously announced plans to apply stricter focus and scrutiny to perceived “repeat offenders,” of which he classifies MoneyGram. Read on for more details.
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| 12. |
MoneyGram International said that it has set aside approximately $16 million to pay potential settlements with the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). Read on for more details.
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| 13. |
The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) re-proposed minimum financial eligibility requirements for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac seller/servicers. This is a renewal of the eligibility requirements established in 2015. Read on for more details.
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| 14. |
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) has issued a letter stating national banks and federal savings associations may participate in independent node verification networks (INVNs) and use stablecoins. “Engaging in INVN within the federal banking system may enhance the efficiency, effectiveness, and stability of payments activities and achieve the benefits of real-time payments already enjoyed in other countries,” the OCC said. Read on for more details.
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| 15. |
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has settled with Envios de Valores La Nacional (La Nacional) based on the bureau’s finding the remittance transfer provider violated the Electronic Fund Transfer Act and the Remittance Transfer Rule. La Nacional is required to pay $750,000 in civil money penalties, as well to adopt a compliance plan. Read on for more details.
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| 16. |
For only the second time since its founding, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau settled with a company over violations of the Remittance Transfer rule. The settlement announced with Trans-Fast Remittance LLC and Sigue Corp. and its subsidiaries follows the bureau’s only other enforcement action regarding violations of the rule, issued in September 2019. Read on for more details of the bureau’s enforcement activity.
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| 17. |
As the Small Business Administration (SBA) nears the launch next week of its portal to accept loan forgiveness applications for the Paycheck Protection Program, the agency on Tuesday released a series of frequently asked questions on forgiveness. SBA said that borrowers and lenders “may rely on the guidance provided” in the FAQs as SBA’s interpretation. Read on for details from the agency’s guidance.
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| 18. |
A decade and 2,300 pages later, the Dodd-Frank Act has fundamentally changed the financial services industry – in ways which are both good and bad. The bill was designed, a Dodd Frank Update story from July 2010 noted, to create a sound economic foundation to grow jobs, protect consumers, reign in Wall Street, end “too-big-to-fail” institutions and prevent another financial crisis. Experts from CBA, ICBA and NAFCU looked back on the good and the bad about the impact of the Dodd-Frank Act. Re...
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| 19. |
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued a final rule covering remittances transfers which makes permanent an exception to estimating fees and raises the threshold for institutions to be subject to the rule. The changes affect the rule, originally issued in 2012, largely as proposed in 2019. Read on for more details about the new exception and threshold amounts the CFPB has finalized.
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| 20. |
Federal regulators have been hard at work the past couple of weeks to provide regulatory relief to the industry as quickly as possible. That includes actions taken by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, by the prudential financial regulators, and by the National Credit Union Administration. Read on for details of the myriad of actions taken by federal regulators to assist the industry.
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| 21. |
As federal legislators and regulators have been working on bills and programs designed to provide regulatory relief to the nation’s bankers and lenders, credit union trade associations have been stepping up lobbying efforts to ensure that their priorities also are included in discussions. The Credit Union National Association and National Association of Federally-Insured Credit Unions have reached out to both ends of Washington to make their voices heard on issues such as rulemaking and examinations, eq...
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| 22. |
Once again, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau declined to discuss any of the findings from its TRID exams in the latest version of its Supervisory Highlights. In 11 reports since the implementation of the TRID rule, only one has contained any guidance from supervisory findings around TRID – that coming in September 2017. Instead, the latest version of the report – covering the period from April through August 2019 – tackled payday lending, debt collection, mortgage servicing and student loan serv...
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| 23. |
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued a notice of proposed rulemaking relating to the remittance rule. The proposal would increase the safe harbor threshold on remittances for certain entities, implement a permanent remittance disclosure exemption for certain entities and permit remittance providers to use estimates for fund transfers to certain countries. Learn specific details about the bureau’s proposal.
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| 24. |
In its 2019 Fall Unified Agenda, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) moved the needle on some long-awaited rulemaking activities. Though some were, not all those moves were in a forward direction. The bureau plans to issue two final rules in 2020 – one regulating the payday lending industry and the other providing certain exemptions to threshold limits connected to Home Mortgage Disclosure Act requirements. The new agenda also added a pair of potentially impactful “long-term” rulemaking item...
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| 25. |
In its first enforcement action citing violations of the agency’s remittance transfer rule, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) settled charges that Maxitransfers Corp. (Maxi) failed to follow policies and procedures compliant remittance-transfer standards. The company also allegedly misled consumers via inaccurate language in statements pertaining to its liability for third-party errors. Find out more about this landmark enforcement action.
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| 26. |
Numerous trade associations representing banks and credit unions responded to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) request for information about its proposed changes to the Electronic Fund Transfers Act (EFTA) that would impact how institutions perform remittances. The trades offered numerous suggestions pertaining to the remittance rule, which was crafted to protect consumers when sending funds overseas electronically and includes exemptions for institutions that meet certain criter...
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| 27. |
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) first Unified Agenda released under Director Kathy Kraninger shows that the agency is planning to issue two long-awaited final rules in June and is moving forward with certain rulemaking activities suggested by former acting director Mick Mulvaney. The bureau’s statutorily-required business lending data collection rulemaking, which has been pushed back multiple times, has been moved up in the latest agenda. Rulemaking to clarify the meaning of “abusive” ...
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| 28. |
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued a Request for Information (RFI) on its remittance rule. The RFI requests feedback on matters discussed in the bureau’s assessment of the rule, which examined if the rule had been effective in achieving its goals. Find out more information about the type of feedback the bureau is seeking.
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| 29. |
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has four tools at its disposal to accomplish its main objective of preventing consumer harm, Kathy Kraninger said during her first public presentation since becoming director. She also announced plans for a new series to facilitate dialogue with stakeholders, starting with a discussion about how to define “abusive” in Section 1031 of the Dodd-Frank Act. Find out what specifics she offered as to how the bureau can achieve its objectives.
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| 30. |
Numerous financial trade associations have urged the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to extend a temporary exception from Regulation E remittance disclosure requirements extended to insured depository institutions. In a letter addressed to CFPB Director Kathy Kraninger, the trade groups noted that their contention about the feasibility of providing exact remittance pricing information is supported by a CFPB remittance rule assessment published in October 2018. Find out more det...
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| 31. |
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) 18th Supervisory Highlights report, the first released since Kathy Kraninger became CFPB director, highlights observations the bureau’s examiners made about potential consumer harm related to automobile lending, deposits, mortgage servicing and remittances. The report also highlights developments in the bureau’s supervision programs – Supervisory Recommendations – which it will use in addition to its Matters Requiring Attention supervisory tool. Find out...
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| 32. |
Financial trade advocates wrote to House officials opposing legislation that would impose a 5 percent tax on cross-border remittances to fund the completion of President Donald Trump’s proposed wall along the U.S.-Mexican border. H.R. 85, known as the “Fund and Complete the Border Wall Act,” was introduced by Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) with support from 10 Republican co-sponsors. Read on to find out why the trades are against the proposal.
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| 33. |
The financial industry is optimistic about the prospect of a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) run by Kathy Kraninger, given the similarities between her views on how to fulfill the bureau’s statutory mandate to those of acting director Mick Mulvaney. Rhonda Thomas-Whitley, assistant vice president and regulatory counsel for the Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA), and Credit Union National Association Chief Advocacy Officer told Dodd Frank Update their associations are hopef...
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| 34. |
With the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) remittance rule turning 5 years old, the time has come for a Dodd-Frank Act-mandated assessment of the rule’s effectiveness in protecting consumers when sending remittance transfers to other countries. In addition to evaluating the rule’s effectiveness, the report also provided information on its effects on the financial marketplace. Find out what details the bureau uncovered about the rule’s impact.
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| 35. |
To encourage continued growth among fintech companies and all parts of the financial services industry, a recent Treasury Department report recommends the curtailment of certain regulations enacted in response to the financial crisis that may hinder innovation in the financial marketplace. With that in mind, the report lists numerous recommendations for action Congress and federal regulators can take to better tailor the regulatory environment accordingly. Get an in-depth picture of how the department b...
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| 36. |
One of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s stated reasons for dismissing all 25 members of its Consumer Advisory Board was because of feedback in response to its Request for Information (RFI) on its external engagement strategies. Numerous trade associations representing banks and credit unions submitted a comment letter signed by dozens of state-level banking trade organizations offering a variety of recommendations in response to the RFI. Find out what the organizations had to say about the mat...
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| 37. |
Doubling down on one of four recommendations included in his first semi-annual report to Congress as acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), Mick Mulvaney emphasized to the House Financial Services Committee that he believes the bureau should be put under congressional appropriations. Mulvaney also fielded questions regarding the bureau’s recent dismissals of cases against payday lenders, the bureau’s structure, his decision to move the Office of Fair Lending and Equal Opport...
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| 38. |
Seeking to rein in the agency’s autonomy under the Dodd-Frank Act, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) acting director Mick Mulvaney recommended four statutory changes in the bureau’s first semi-annual report to Congress since he took the helm. The report also notes some of the CFPB’s planned rulemaking activities and initiatives to watch for over the next several months. Find out more about the report’s insights, Mulvaney’s recommendations and what plans the bureau has in the works.
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| 39. |
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau acting director Mick Mulvaney detailed the bureau’s new guiding principles, which include protecting credit providers in addition to consumers, while speaking at the Credit Union National Association’s Government Affairs Conference in Washington, D.C. He also referenced his written communications with Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) about his actions as the bureau’s interim leader and the legitimacy of his standing in that position, as well as a past exchange with a ...
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| 40. |
Despite Congress’ limited experience with Congressional Review Act (CRA) repeals before 2017, the act remains an effective tool for legislators wanting to prevent certain rules from taking effect that they believe would be problematic in some way. Credit Union National Association’s Ryan Donovan, Independent Community Bankers of America’s Viveca Ware and Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman’s Craig Saperstein spoke with Dodd Frank Update about the CRA’s power to make regulatory agencies think twice about the...
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| 41. |
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau recently announced a new rule prohibiting companies from using mandatory arbitration clauses that prevent consumers from filing or joining class action lawsuits. Read on to learn more details about what the rule means for the financial industry.
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| 42. |
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau released its latest Supervisory Highlights report, which covers the period from September through December 2015, including the first three months of mortgages conducted under the TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure (TRID) rule. However, the report does not address supervisory findings from TRID transactions. Read on to find out what it said about TRID, and what examiners found in other markets in the final four months of 2015.
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| 43. |
In its sixth complaint snapshot, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau directed its attention on consumer complaints regarding money transfers and the geographic region of Georgia and the Atlanta metro area. The bureau also examined national complaint trends. You may be surprised by which product’s complaints have increased by about 215 percent and which product has had the greatest decrease. Read on to learn more.
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| 44. |
Appearing before the Consumer Federation of America, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Richard Cordray discussed some of the key findings of a report on the impacts of the Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act. Cordray took a moment to state that industry claims that regulatory burden would restrict consumer access to credit had been proven false more than once. Read on to learn more about the CARD Act report and what the Credit Union National Association had to say in...
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| 45. |
As PayPal prepares for its split from eBay, the company outlined its regulatory outlook and potential liabilities under consumer financial protection laws, including those implemented by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. PayPal is in settlement talks with the bureau and may face an enforcement action later this year. Read on for more details.
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| 46. |
In a town hall meeting with the National Credit Union Administration, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Richard Cordray spoke about on-going proposals and provided candid answers to questions concerning the bureau’s rule-making process.
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| 47. |
2014 showed that financial reform can change course in important ways for any number of reasons, and Dodd Frank Update is identifying trends that likely will shape the reform debate in the New Year. Read on to learn about the expanding footprint of the CFPB and the election’s potential impact on Dodd-Frank.
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| 48. |
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau finalized a rule that allows it to supervise large nonbank international remittance providers for the first time. Some banking groups and consumer advocates had urged the agency to widen the scope of the rule as a means of ensuring that bank and nonbank international money transfer providers face comparable federal oversight. Read on to learn how the bureau responded.
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| 49. |
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau finalized a rule that allows it to supervise large nonbank international remittance providers for the first time. The rule, first proposed in January, will apply to an estimated 25 nonbank companies deemed “larger participants” in the international remittance market.
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| 50. |
Federally insured institutions will have an additional five years to begin providing exact disclosures for international money transfers in certain cases under a rule finalized Aug. 22 by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Read on to learn about the bureau’s latest remittance rule revisions.
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