The CFPB excited many in the mortgage industry with some noteworthy proposed changes to its ability-to-repay rule, particularly a broad exemption for portfolio loans held by small lenders. But it’s not chiseled in stone yet – the bureau wants industry and other public comment on a host of issues associated with the revisions it contemplates. For instance, the bureau wants all of the changes in its proposal to take effect on Jan. 1, 2016. The date would be consistent with the end of the calendar year determinations that have to be made regarding the special provisions and exemptions that apply to small creditors under the CFPB’s regulations, and would therefore facilitate compliance by creditors. “The bureau seeks comment on whether the ...

The CFPB recently warned financial institutions under its supervisory authority not to hide behind third-party non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) as a way of blocking the bureau’s access to all the supervisory information it needs from those under its charge. “The CFPB is aware that some supervised financial institutions may have entered into non-disclosure agreements that purport to restrict the institution from sharing information with a regulator, or to require the institution to notify a third party when it shares information,” the agency said. However, NDAs “neither alter the legal restrictions on the disclosure of confidential supervisory information (CSI) nor impact the CFPB’s authority to obtain information from covered persons and service providers in the exercise of its supervisory authority.”Further, a ...

Last week, the CFPB ordered Continental Finance Company, LLC, a subprime credit card originator, marketer and servicer based in Newark, DE, to refund approximately $2.7 million to consumers who were charged allegedly illegal fees. The bureau also imposed a $250,000 civil penalty on Continental. The CFPB alleged that Continental “engaged in deceptive acts or practices by making false statements regarding certain fees charged consumers in connection with credit cards,” and by “representing, expressly or impliedly, that certain security deposits consumers provided for certain credit cards” would be insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. The company also violated the Truth in Lending Act and its implementing Regulation Z by requiring some consumers to pay fees exceeding the 25 percent limit ...

Numerous current and former heavily indebted student borrowers who attended schools previously owned by Corinthian Colleges will see the outstanding amount they owe reduced by 40 percent, under the terms of a deal struck by the CFPB, the Department of Education and ECMC Group, the new owner of a number of the schools. The total debt relief amounts to $480 million. Back in September, the CFPB sued Corinthian Colleges Inc. for allegedly luring tens of thousands of students to take out private loans, known as “Genesis loans,” to cover expensive tuition costs by advertising bogus job prospects and career services. The bureau also alleged that Corinthian used illegal debt collection tactics to strong-arm students into paying back those loans while ...

Following up on a lawsuit it filed late last year, the CFPB last week filed a proposed consent order with a federal district court to require a Texas-based company, Union Workers Credit Services, to pay a penalty of $70,000, and to permanently ban it from offering any consumer credit products or services.The bureau alleges Union Workers duped thousands of consumers into signing up for a sham credit card. The CFPB is tapping its authority under the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 to allege unfair, deceptive, and abusive acts or practices on the part of the company. The complaint also alleges violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act. In December 2014, the CFPB sued the company over allegations that ...

A dozen Republican members of the U.S. Congress wrote to the bureau last week to suggest five key principles it should follow in adopting rules for payday loans and other short-term lending. First, all rules or regulations for the short-term lending industry should be based on large-scale data analysis and tested research, “not anecdotal or agenda-driven rhetoric.” The bureau also ought to consider the potential impact on small businesses and not impose excessive compliance costs that lessen their ability to provide access to credit to consumers, the House Republicans said. Third, the CFPB also must keep in mind the effects its rules might have on consumers in rural areas and avoid overzealous regulations that can disproportionately harm rural or underserved ...

Rep. Bill Huizenga, R-MI, chairman of the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Monetary Policy and Trade, recently re-introduced the Mortgage Choice Act, the points-and-fees legislation, with some bipartisan support, which could help ease concern at a White House wary of Republican efforts to scale back the powers of the CFPB. The measure would exempt from the qualified mortgage 3 percent cap on points and fees any affiliated title charges and escrow charges for taxes and insurance. Huizenga’s bill also would exclude lender-paid compensation to a bank in a wholesale transaction from the 3 percent cap.“Hardworking families across the nation should not be denied access to a qualified mortgage because of technicalities that are largely out of their control,” said ...

The CFPB should ban the collection of debts on which the statute of limitations has expired, according to a new report from the National Consumer Law Center on “zombie debt.” “In light of the serious harm to consumers caused by time-barred collections, we urge the CFPB to prohibit all collection of time-barred debt – whether through litigation or non-litigation means – as unfair, deceptive or abusive acts or practices,” said the NCLC. This prohibition should apply to creditors, debt collectors and debt buyers.The CFPB has authority to make rules “necessary or appropriate” to its ability to enforce the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) and “to prevent evasions thereof,” the consumer group said. It also has general authority to issue “rules ...

In an effort to help indebted students as they move into the workforce, the CFPB joined other federal regulators recently in issuing guidance on private student loans with graduated repayment terms at loan origination. “Financial institutions that originate private student loans may offer graduated repayment terms in addition to fixed amortizing terms to borrowers at the time of loan origination,” the guidance stated.Graduated repayment terms provide lower initial monthly payments early in the repayment period and phase in the amortization of the principal balance, it noted. “Graduated repayment terms may align a borrower’s income level with loan repayment requirements, provide flexibility to repay the debt sooner if a borrower’s income increases more quickly than projected, and may help long- ...

The CFPB recently sent letters to select private student loan lenders and servicers inquiring about their current and planned loan modification options. The letter is a follow-up to a meeting last year convened by CFPB Director Richard Cordray and Education Secretary Arne Duncan to discuss ways for industry participants to offer more options, such as modified repayment plans, to help borrowers avoid default and increase the likelihood of full repayment. Federal financial regulators have offered repeated guidance encouraging industry to pursue these workout arrangements, and they have noted that they will not criticize financial institutions even if these loan modifications lead to adverse credit classifications, CFPB Student Loan Ombudsman Rohit Chopra said in the correspondence. “While certain market participants have ...