An appeals court has ruled that monthly statements attempting to induce payment on a debt are covered by both the Truth in Lending Act and Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.
The CFPB affirmed that “convenience” fees charged by debt collectors for payments made through certain means are unlawful unless expressly permitted by law. Trade groups are concerned about the possible impact on mortgage servicers.
The CFPB’s spring regulatory agenda had only one mortgage-related item: automated valuation models. The bureau expects to issue a proposed rule on the matter in December.
In an interpretive rule, the CFPB affirmed states’ ability to enforce fair credit reporting laws that reflect challenges and risks affecting their local economies and residents.
The bureau plans to review a Federal Reserve immunity provision that safeguards credit card issuers from enforcement scrutiny if they set late fees at a particular level.
The recent changes to the CFPB’s supervision manual that brought discriminatory conduct under its “unfairness” standard are unlawful, a coalition of banking trade groups argued in a new white paper.
The National Community Reinvestment Coalition and five fintechs have asked the CFPB to issue an interpretive rule on best practices in collecting borrowers’ demographic data to monitor their underwriting in context of fair lending.
Industry trade groups said a separate role for the CFPB when it comes to reviewing bank mergers was unnecessary and would be outside of the bureau’s authority.
Monthly mortgage statements that contain language suggesting they are attempts to induce payment on a debt can be construed as a debt-related communication under the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act.
Federal regulators recently elaborated on their goals behind last month’s interagency Community Reinvestment Act proposal, which some fair lending advocates believe is not going to advance racial equity.