Some fintech companies have stated that banks are not following through on the data sharing guidance set forth by the CFPB; banks on the other hand have said they are following through and sharing data with fintechs; the biggest complaint thus far is that banks are being selective and not granting access widely; banks have more complicated systems and multiple levels of compliance which could end a relationship before it begins; some ideas for better cooperation are for banks to design a set of standards as banks in the UK have done. Source.
Leaders at the Federal Reserve, the OCC and the CFPB spoke at the Consumer Bankers Association annual conference about the need to be more flexible when applying oversight to bank & fintech partnerships; “We need to do a better job of educating our supervision staff, in some cases, in terms of interpretation of the guidance,” said Dan Quan, who leads the CFPB’s Project Catalyst, as reported by American Banker; they also talked about better coordination to ensure consistency in oversight. Source.
In 2017 the CFPB saw a ton of regulation and a battle for the successor to former director Richard Cordray; this coming year could be even more tumultuous as acting director Mick Mulvaney looks to undo many of the regulations Cordray put in place and the ensuing court battle over who is the rightful director; recent rule like the arbitration rule have been reversed and they payday lending regulation could be next to go; with a number of regulations in need or more clarity or a court decision the next 12 months could prove crucial for the future of the agency. Source.
The CFPB handles more than 84 thousand debt collection complaints in 2017; consumers also downloaded advice on settlement negotiations more than 800 thousand times; "From now on we will be working closely with the FTC to enforce the FDCPA while protecting the legal rights of all in a manner that is efficient, effective, and accountable,” acting Director Mulvaney said in a press release reported by American Banker; the CFPB and FTC filed more than 14 enforcement cases as a result of collections last year. Source.
The Community Home Lenders Association and the Community Mortgage Lenders of America sent a joint letter to the CFPB asking for more clarity around surprise audits; the companies cite exemptions for small banks but they don’t have the same type of exemption for small nonbanks; they believe if the state regulator in which they operate requests a formal action then an audit can go ahead but surprise audits should not be permitted. Source.
On October 5, 2017 the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced a new rule aimed to protect consumers against payday loan...
Loan servicing company Navient has marketed support for student loan borrowers as part of its customer service strategy however its defense to a court case says the opposite; the company is being sued by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) for not instituting customer service that matches its customer commitments; the CFPB's main argument is that Navient did not take into account the best interest of borrowers, specifically directing struggling borrowers into payment plans versus capped payment solutions because of the time intensive registration of the latter option; Navient blames a lack of compensation from clients such as the US Education Department for the company's service constraints; the Education Department finds no merit in Navient's defense and the CFPB has data that estimates Navient's service caused borrowers to pay an additional $4 billion in interest charges; Navient has evidence citing a significant number of borrowers in income-repayment plans and has solid arguments including that the federal law does not require servicers to counsel customers on their repayment options. Source
At an event held by the CFPB banks, fintechs, regulators and consumer advocates discussed the data sharing experience; screen scraping...
While there has been a focus on junk fees recently that hasn't extended much to remittances. For people sending money overseas there is no transparency and the cost is still too high.