Dodd-Frank News Center

CFPB sues credit repair companies over alleged violations of Telemarketing Sales Rule

This story appeared in Bank Digest.                                   

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has filed a complaint against PGX Holdings Inc. and subsidiaries Progrexion Marketing Inc., Progrexion Teleservices Inc., eFolks LLC, and CreditRepair.com Inc. (collectively, Progrexion), and against John C. Heath, Attorney at Law PLLC, which does business as Lexington Law. The suit was filed in the United States District Court for the District of Utah.

According to the complaint, the defendants operate two of the largest credit repair companies in the country, Lexington Law and CreditRepair.com.

The Bureau alleges that the defendants violated the Telemarketing Sales Rule by requesting and receiving payment of prohibited upfront fees for their credit repair services. The Bureau also alleges that Progrexion and its subsidiaries violated the TSR and the Consumer Financial Protection Act by making deceptive representations in their marketing, or by substantially assisting others in doing so, according to the CFPB's release.

CFPB proposes to raise HMDA thresholds; requests feedback on reporting HMDA data

This story appeared in Bank Digest.                                   

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is proposing to raise the coverage thresholds for collecting and reporting data about closed-end mortgage loans and open-end lines of credit under the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act rules. The proposed rule is intended to exempt smaller lenders from HMDA data reporting requirements and would clarify partial exemptions from certain HMDA requirements found in the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act.

The Bureau has also issued an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking seeking information on the costs and benefits of reporting certain data points under HMDA.

Comments on the proposed rule are due on or before 30 days after publication in the Federal Register, except that comments related to the Paperwork Reduction Act analysis must be received within 60 days of publication. Feedback on the ANPR must be received within 60 days of publication in the Federal Register.

OIG issues list of open recommendations made to CFPB

This story appeared in Bank Digest.                                   

The Office of Inspector General for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Federal Reserve Board has issued a document describing open recommendations the OIG has made to the Bureau. The document provides a list of publicly available report recommendations the OIG made to the Bureau that were open for more than 12 months as of March 31, 2019, and their status.

The list also includes the number and title of the report each recommendation appeared in, links to report summaries, and the issuance dates of the reports. As of March 31, 2019, 50 OIG recommendations to the Bureau remained open.

FDIC Systemic Resolution Advisory Committee charter renewed

This story appeared in Bank Digest.                                   

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation has renewed the charter of the FDIC Systemic Resolution Advisory Committee, which has provided feedback to the agency on a broad range of issues regarding the resolution of systemically important financial companies pursuant to the Dodd-Frank Act. The structure and responsibilities of the committee are unchanged from when it was originally established in May 2011, and it will continue to operate in accordance with the provisions of the Federal Advisory Committee Act.

 

Senators object to CFPB's removal of HMDA data tools from website

This story appeared in Bank Digest.                                   

Several senators have written to Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Kathy Kraninger expressing their "deep concern" about the CFPB's decision "to remove Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) Explorer and the Public Data Platform Application Programming Interface (API) that runs it from the CFPB website."

According to a press release by Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md), who was one of the letter's signers, HMDA data is a primary tool to measure trends and disparities in mortgage credit access, and the CFPB's HMDA Explorer and API have made it easier for local organizations without sophisticated data analytics tools to assess the access those in their communities have to mortgage credit.

In their letter, the senators went on to say, "Removing HMDA Explorer without an adequate replacement would be a step backward in HMDA's more than 40-year trend of expanding access to valuable mortgage lending data and protecting equal housing access for all families in all markets. We strongly urge you to reverse course and request that you provide a detailed briefing no later than Friday, May 10, 2019, on the reason(s) that CFPB has decided to discontinue availability of HMDA Explorer and its API and what tools will be made available to provide equal or greater access to usable HMDA data for the public."

CFPB updates 'Prepaid Rule' small entity compliance guide

This story appeared in Bank Digest.                                     

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has updated its "Prepaid Rule" small entity compliance guide. The Bureau added one new section and updated several others to incorporate technical specifications for submitting prepaid account agreements and agreement information to the Bureau. It also updated various sections to reflect miscellaneous administrative changes.

 

CFPB seeks input on potential changes to Remittance Rule

This story appeared in Bank Digest.                                   

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has issued a Request for Information regarding potential regulatory changes to its Remittance Rule, which implements protections established by the Electronic Fund Transfer Act, as amended by the Dodd-Frank Act, for consumers sending international money transfers, or remittance transfers. The Remittance Rule imposes requirements on companies that send these remittance transfers on behalf of consumers.

According to the Bureau, the RFI is intended to inform possible changes to the rule that would not eliminate, but would mitigate, the effects of the expiration of a statutory exception for certain financial institutions. Comments on the RFI are due 60 days after its publication in the Federal Register.

 

CFPB announces changes to CID policies

This story appeared in Bank Digest.                                     

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has announced changes to policies regarding Civil Investigative Demands, which are investigational subpoenas the Bureau is authorized to issue when looking into potential violations of law. The changes are intended to ensure the CIDs provide more information about the potentially wrongful conduct under investigation.

The Bureau's release said CIDs will now provide more information about the potentially applicable provisions of law that may have been violated and will also typically specify the business activities subject to the Bureau's authority. If determining the extent of the Bureau's authority over the relevant activity is a significant purpose of the investigation, staff may specifically include that issue in the CID in the interests of further transparency, the CFPB said.

CFPB seeks renewal of 'Interstate Land Sales Full Disclosure Act' information collection

This story appeared in Bank Digest.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is proposing to renew, without change, the Office of Management and Budget approval for an existing information collection entitled "Interstate Land Sales Full Disclosure Act (Regulations J, K & L) 12 CFR 1010, 1011, 1012." According to the CFPB's notice, information relating to this collection is submitted to the Bureau to assure compliance with the Interstate Land Sales Full Disclosure Act and the implementing regulations.

On Dec. 17, 2018, the Bureau issued a 60-day notice at 83 Federal Register 64566 seeking comments on the proposal. Written comments on the current notice must be received by May 22, 2019, and will be reviewed by the OMB as part of its review of this request.

FDIC considers easier living will rule for banks, thrifts

 This story appeared in Bank Digest.                                   

The Federal Insurance Deposit Corporation is publishing an advance notice of proposed rulemaking on ways it could tailor living will requirements for the banks and savings associations it supervises. The ANPR suggests possible changes in three areas: (1) creating tiered planning requirements based on each institution's size and complexity, as well as other factors; (2) reducing the frequency and required content for resolution plans, and eliminating the filing obligation for some smaller and less complex institutions; and (3) improving the communication between the agency and the institutions.

According to an FDIC staff memorandum, the agency is considering two possible approaches, one with three tiers and the other with two. Since the FDIC may adopt living will rule amendments before affected banks and thrifts are required to file their plans--July 1, 2020--the ANPR asks if filing should be delayed until the agency reaches and implements a decision. Comments on the ANPR must be received within 60 days of its publication in the Federal Register.