A&B ABstract: The COVID-19 pandemic appears to be drafting the attention to consumer protection regulators to products that were active after the 2008 recession. In the midst of the global pandemic, with unemployment rates surging to unprecedented levels, consumer protection regulators appear focused on areas where cash-strapped consumers may turn, such as credit repair, payday […]
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CFPB Issues Policy Statement on Dodd-Frank “Abusiveness” Standard, But Important Uncertainties Remain
A&B ABstract: The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB” or the “Bureau”) issued a Policy Statement to provide a framework for how it intends to apply the Dodd-Frank Act’s “abusiveness” standard going forward in its supervision and enforcement activities. While this framework attempts to provide clarity where the Dodd-Frank Act left uncertain what acts and practices […]
California Governor Moves to Strengthen State Consumer Protection Enforcement in 2020
A&B ABstract: On January 10, 2020, California Governor Gavin Newsom released his budget summary for 2020 to 2021. Fearing that the Trump administration will further roll back consumer financial protections, Gov. Newsom proposed the California Consumer Financial Protection Law, which would provide the state’s primary financial services regulator with additional authority to enforce consumer protection […]
Slaying the Monster? Reduced Risk of False Claims Act Prosecution for FHA Lenders
A&B Abstract: In an effort to incent large depository institutions to return to FHA lending, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (“HUD”) and the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (“MOU”), on October 28, 2019, that delineates HUD’s process for determining whether violations of FHA guidelines should be […]
Supreme Court to Decide CFPB’s Constitutionality
A&B ABstract: On October 18, 2019, the Supreme Court granted certiorari in Seila Law v. CFPB to decide the constitutionality of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s leadership structure.[1] Significantly, the Court also ordered the parties to brief and argue a second question: “If the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau [“CFPB”] is found unconstitutional on the basis […]