The CFPB announced on Friday that it will hold a symposium on behavioral law and economics on September 19.  The symposium will be the second in the series announced by the Bureau in April 2019.  The first symposium, which was held on June 25, focused on the Dodd-Frank Act’s prohibition of abusive acts or practices, specifically the meaning of abusiveness. The September 19 symposium will consist of two panels.  The first panel will…

In this podcast, we examine the compliance challenges arising from the provision of the CFPB’s proposed debt collection rule that allows collectors to leave a limited content phone message that would not violate the FDCPA’s third party disclosure prohibition.  In addition to the requirement for a collector to leave the name of a natural person for the consumer to contact, we discuss the proposal’s prohibition on leaving the collector’s name, the CFPB’s rationale for the…

Last month, the Federal Reserve Board announced its plans to develop a real-time payments (RTP) service to be offered by the Federal Reserve Banks to directly support faster payments. Three members of Ballard Spahr’s Consumer Financial Services Group with extensive experience negotiating complex payments transactions for some of the world’s largest retailers and financial institutions have authored an article in which they discuss the expanding adoption of RTP as a standard for payments transactions, including the…

Nicholas Smyth, Assistant Director of the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, was our guest speaker for a webinar yesterday.  Formerly a CFPB enforcement attorney, Nick was appointed by PA Attorney General Josh Shapiro about two years ago to lead the new unit.  Chris Willis, Practice Leader of Ballard Spahr’s Consumer Financial Services Litigation Group, joined Nick as a speaker.  Alan Kaplinsky, who leads the firm’s Consumer Financial Services Group, moderated the webinar. As…

In this podcast, we discuss the FDIC’s observations about its “most salient” consumer compliance exam findings during 2018, including issues relating to Overdraft Programs, Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (“RESPA”) Section 8, Regulation E, “Skip-A-Payment” or Deferment Loan Programs, and Lines of Credit. Click here to listen to the podcast.…

In this podcast, we discuss in detail certain provisions of the CFPB’s Proposed Debt Collection Rule that create the possibility of a collector providing disclosures to consumers by means of electronic communications. Among other things, we detail the scope, requirements and limitations related to such electronic communications, review the logistical challenges the Rule poses as to electronic communications and compare and contrast these requirements to those of the ESIGN Act. Click here to listen to…

Pennsylvania has one of the most active Attorney General offices when it comes to bringing cases against financial companies. This is due to the office’s Consumer Financial Protection Unit, which was formed by Attorney General Josh Shapiro in 2017 because of the expectation that the CFPB would become less potent in protecting consumers. The Unit is led by Nicholas Smyth, a former CFPB enforcement lawyer. Alan Kaplinsky, the Chair of our Consumer Financial Services Group,…