On October 21, the CFPB issued a series of orders to “collect information on the business practices of large technology companies operating payments systems in the United States.” The CFPB sent the orders to six companies: Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google, PayPal, and Square. In a statement accompanying the press release announcing the orders, Director Chopra […]
Dodd-Frank Act
New CFPB Chief Rohit Chopra Confirmed by Senate and Takes Immediate Action Against Big Tech Firms
A&B Abstract: On September 30, 2021, the Senate confirmed Rohit Chopra to serve as director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) in a 50-48 vote along party lines. He had been serving as a member of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) where he had been a vocal critic of big tech companies and advocated […]
Third Party Payment Processors as ‘Covered Persons’: A Return to CFPB Regulation by Enforcement?
A&B ABstract: The CFPB has recently asserted extraordinary authority to make any payment processor monitor the activities of any merchant for which it processes payments, even if that merchant does not provide consumer financial products or services. Does its argument hold up? The CFPB’s Complaint Against BrightSpeed On March 3, 2021, the Bureau of Consumer […]
The Hunstein Case: Upending Servicing and Debt Collection?
A&B Abstract: The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, covering Alabama, Florida, and Georgia, recently decided in Hunstein v. Preferred Collection and Management, Inc., that a debt collector’s communication with its third-party vendor violated section 1692c(b) of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (“FDCPA”), which prohibits a debt collector for communicating, in connection […]
CFPB Issues Warning to Mortgage Servicing Industry
A&B ABstract: On April 1, 2021, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB” or “Bureau”) issued a Compliance Bulletin and Policy Guidance (the “Bulletin”) on the Bureau’s supervision and enforcement priorities with regard to housing insecurity in light of heightened risks to consumers needing loss mitigation assistance once COVID-19 foreclosure moratoriums and forbearances end. The Bulletin […]