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 […]
Dodd-Frank Act
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 […]
CFPB Brings Action Against Connecticut Mortgage Lender
The number of enforcement actions by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) more than doubled from 2019 to 2020. The CFPB made clear that cracking down on deceptive and unfair acts and practices under the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 (CFPA) remains a core focus, with 11 of the 15 complaints it filed last […]
CFPB Retires the “QM Patch” and Revises QM Rules
A&B ABstract: In a significant final rulemaking with potentially far-reaching consequences for the residential mortgage markets, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) is terminating the “QM Patch” and significantly revising the criteria for what constitutes a qualified mortgage (“QM”) loan. Notably, in this rule, issued on December 10, 2020, the CFPB replaces the dreaded Appendix […]