The American Bankers Association has weighed in once again on the CFPB’s proposed information collection request filed with the Office of Management and Budget to survey consumers about their experience with debt collection – this time asking it be shut down entirely. In its first comment on an earlier iteration of the bureau’s request, the ABA expressed general support for a consumer survey. However, the industry group identified “significant design and methodological concerns” and suggested changes to the survey instrument and its administration that the banking industry believes will improve the integrity and practical utility of the proposed information collection. Unfortunately, in the revised proposal, the CFPB responds “only perfunctorily to stakeholder comments and reflects very little real change to the ...

The debt collection industry still has plenty of work to do in terms of correcting its collection attempts against delinquent borrowers, according to a new ranking and analysis by Inside the CFPB. “Incorrect collection attempts” were far and away the leading consumer complaint about the industry submitted to the CFPB, with more than 12,000 such gripes filed, nearly 40 percent of all debt-collection criticisms, the analysis found. (See chart on page 7.) The biggest offender in this regard was Encore Capital Group, with 925 such complaints. MNE Services Inc., on the other hand, had the lowest number of gripes in this area, 19, among the top 50 companies in the ranking. “Communication tactics” ranked second among types of consumer complaints ...

The Consumer Bankers Association took issue with letters CFPB Student Loan Ombudsman Rohit Chopra recently sent to financial institutions that have contractual relationships with colleges and universities, calling for public disclosure of their campus marketing agreements. Chopra’s letter stated the institutions’ failure to be transparent about the terms of these proprietary agreements “may pose potential consumer protection risks.” However, CBA President and CEO Richard Hunt said Chopra did not provide any basis for or evidence to support these provocative claims. “On the contrary, relationships between banks and schools often provide students with great benefits by providing much needed financial literacy, safe and secure debit cards, low or no-fee checking accounts and access to convenient on-campus branches and ATMs; and students ...

CFPB Student Loan Ombudsman Rohit Chopra is raising the headline risk for banks that fail to be transparent about the campus financial product marketing agreements they have with colleges and universities. In a recent blog post alerting colleges and students about “secret banking contracts,” Chopra indicated the bureau has been mailing out letters to such educational institutions “to make sure they know that their bank partner has not yet committed to transparency when it comes to student financial products” because the financial institution has not yet posted its marketing agreement with the school on its website. Last year, the CFPB launched an inquiry into financial products marketed to college and university students to determine whether the market is working for...

The CFPB, the Federal Trade Commission and 15 state attorneys general, as well as other state agencies, announced a number of legal actions last month against alleged foreclosure relief scammers they accused of using deceptive marketing tactics to rip off distressed homeowners across the country. The CFPB filed three lawsuits against companies and individuals it asserted collected more than $25 million in illegal advance fees for services that falsely promised to prevent foreclosures or renegotiate troubled mortgages. The bureau is seeking compensation for victims, civil fines and injunctions against the companies and individuals it identified. One of the lawsuits was filed against Clausen & Cobb Management Company, Inc., its owners, Alfred Clausen and Joshua Cobb, and their business associate, attorney ...

The CFPB recently began accepting consumer complaints about prepaid cards (such as gift cards, benefit cards, and general purpose reloadable cards) as well as additional nonbank products, including debt settlement services, credit repair services, and pawn and title loans. Consumers can now submit prepaid card complaints to the bureau about problems managing, opening or closing their account; overdraft issues and incorrect or unexpected fees; and frauds, scams or unauthorized transactions. They can also file gripes about prepaid card advertising, disclosures and marketing practices; as well as issues relating to adding money and savings or rewards features associated with such cards. In the coming months, the bureau plans to issue a proposed rule aimed at increasing federal consumer protections for general ...

New issuance of non-mortgage ABS dropped slightly during the second quarter of 2014 from the robust levels recorded in the first quarter of 2014, according to a new analysis and ranking by Inside MBS & ABS. A total of $49.14 billion of non-mortgage ABS were issued during the April-to-June cycle, an 8.0 percent decline from the first quarter of 2014. But new issuance remained...[Includes three data charts]

The CFPB filed a lawsuit in a federal district court last week against Frederick J. Hanna & Associates, based in Marietta, GA, and its three principal partners – Frederick J. Hanna, Joseph Cooling, and Robert Winter – accusing them of operating a debt-collection lawsuit mill that used illegal tactics to intimidate consumers into paying debts they may not owe. “The CFPB alleges that the firm operates like a factory, producing hundreds of thousands of debt- collection lawsuits against consumers on behalf of its clients, which mainly include banks, debt buyers and major credit card issuers,” the bureau said. Between 2009 and 2013, the firm filed more than 350,000 debt-collection lawsuits in Georgia alone, according to the CFPB. The bureau further alleged the ...

The CFPB is now collecting consumer complaints about seven different segments of the financial services sector, and its latest cumulative report on the subject indicates the Dodd-Frank Act’s cop on the beat is only going to continue to expand its dragnet. So far, the CFPB is accepting complaints about credit cards (as of July 21, 2011), mortgages (Dec. 1, 2011), bank accounts and services (March 1, 2012), credit reporting (Oct. 22, 2012), money transfers (April 4, 2013), debt collection (July 10, 2013), and payday loans (Nov. 6, 2013). “The CFPB continues to work toward expanding its complaint handling to include other products and services under its authority, such as prepaid cards. Consumers may also contact the CFPB about other products ...

If an FHA borrower runs out of options for loss mitigation and home retention, a lender must first consider a pre-foreclosure or short sale, with deed-in-lieu (DIL) of foreclosure as a second option, according to new FHA guidance. Mortgagee Letter 2014-5 states that the lender must first determine whether the borrower facing default or at risk of default qualifies for a pre-foreclosure sale (PFS). The FHA allows pre-foreclosure sales to be processed as either a “standard PFS” or a “streamline PFS.” The former is available only to owner-occupants while the latter is for both owner- and non-owner-occupied single-family properties. In determining standard PFS eligibility, the lender must use a “deficit income test” to determine whether the borrower is experiencing hardship and is able to sustain his or her mortgage. A DIT resulting in a negative amount would likely qualify the borrower for a ...