Spotlight – CFPB Journal

Citizens Financial fined $9 million for credit card violations

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau fined Providence, R.I.-based Citizens Financial Group $9 million for violating consumer financial protection standards on disputed credit card transactions. According to the CFPB, Citizens violated the Truth in Lending Act by improperly denying customers’ requests for reports of fraud and errors and requiring them to “jump through unnecessary and burdensome hoops, which are not required under the Truth in Lending Act, to report fraud.”

CFPB data breach exposes 250,000 customers

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has reported a data breach that impacted more than 250,000 consumers. Media reports indicated that a CFPB employee who has since left the agency forwarded to a personal email account personal information on 256,000 consumers and confidential supervisory information on 45 financial institutions.

CFPB finalizes rule to increase transparency in small business lending

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau recently finalized Dodd-Frank Act Section 1071, which governs the collection and reporting of small business lending data. Under the rule, lenders will be required to collect and report information about the small business credit applications they receive.

Supreme Court to review CFPB funding case

The Supreme Court has agreed to review a case challenging the constitutionality of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s funding mechanism. The Feb. 27 decision came four months after a three-judge panel in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas ruled that the CFPB’s funding mechanism violated the Constitution’s Appropriations Clause because it draws funding from the Federal Reserve instead of Congress.

CFPB proposes drastic revamp in credit card late fee requirements

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau proposed dramatically revamping credit card late fee policies last week, including dropping the maximum credit card fee per missed payment from $41 to $8. The proposal, issued Feb. 1, would also end the automatic annual inflation adjustment issuers receive and ban late fee amounts above 25 percent of a required minimum payment.

Appeals court rules CFPB funding structure unconstitutional

An appeals court has ruled that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is unconstitutionally funded. The Oct. 19 ruling, written by a three judge panel in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, invalidates the bureau’s 2017 payday lending rule limiting the collection options for payday lenders.

Trade groups ask bureau to rescind examination manual

Banking trade groups have jointly called for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to withdraw a revised examination manual which would allow it to scrutinize discriminatory conduct under its authority to enforce the Consumer Financial Protection Act’s prohibition on unfair, deceptive and abusive acts and practices.

CFPB launches inquiry into ‘employer-driven debt’

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau launched an inquiry into practices and financial products it believes could lead employees indebted to their employers. The agency wants to know if consumers have a “meaningful choice” in accepting employer-driven debt products.

Bank of America docked over illegal garnishment

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued an enforcement action against Bank of America for processing out-of-state garnishment orders against its customers’ bank accounts, fining the North Carolina bank $10 million.

CFPB to examine nonbanks posing customer risk

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced April 25 that it will conduct supervisory examinations of nonbank financial companies that pose risks to consumers, using an obscure legal provision.