Barbara S. Mishkin

Connect: Read more about Barbara S. Mishkin
Firm/Organization: Ballard Spahr LLP
Blogs: Consumer Finance Monitor

Latest Articles

Last month, after more than three years of urging by the industry to provide written guidance, the CFPB issued four FAQs on its TILA/RESPA Integrated Disclosure (TRID) Rule.  In this week’s podcast, we take a close look at the FAQs and what they tell creditors, particularly its guidance on when a corrected Closing Disclosure and new three-day waiting period are required (with a caution for those selling to investors) and the safe harbor for using…
The CFPB’s proposal to revise its final payday/auto title/high-rate installment loan rule to rescind the rule’s ability-to-repay (ATR) provisions in their entirety and its proposal to delay the compliance date for the ATR provisions until November 19, 2020 were published in today’s Federal Register.  The CFPB’s proposals would leave unchanged the rule’s troublesome payment provisions and continue to require compliance by August 19 with those provisions. The publication of the proposals starts the clock running…
The Federal Trade Commission announced that a planned workshop in Washington, D.C. aimed at examining consumer protection issues related to the online event ticket marketplace has been rescheduled for June 11, 2019 due to the government shutdown.  (The workshop’s original date was March 27.) The workshop will feature opening remarks by FTC Commissioner Rebecca Kelly Slaughter and will bring together a variety of stakeholders, including industry representatives, consumer advocates, trade associations, academics and government officials,…
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Democratic Congressman Bill Foster, who represents the 11th District of Illinois, has sent a letter to Maxine Waters, Democratic Chairwoman of the House Financial Services Committee, to express his “strong interest in serving as the Chair of the Taskforce on Financial Technology and Innovation that will be convened in the coming weeks.”  Ms. Waters announced her plans to create the Taskforce upon becoming Chairwoman. In his letter (obtained by Politico), Mr. Foster mentions various credentials…
With the creation of a Consumer Financial Protection Unit as one of his early actions, Pennsylvania  Attorney General Josh Shapiro made clear his intention to pursue an aggressive pro-consumer agenda.  Mr. Shapiro named Nicholas Smyth, a former CFPB enforcement attorney, to serve as Assistant Director of the Attorney General’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. In what may be confirmation of increased activity by the PA AG,  Mr. Smyth has posted a job listing stating that the…
A letter recently sent by House Financial Services Committee Chairwoman Maxine Waters to CFPB Director Kathy Kraninger will undoubtedly be followed in the coming months by many similar letters to the CFPB from the Committee’s new Democratic leadership. In the letter, Chairwoman Waters raises concerns “about how the Consumer Bureau is exercising its enforcement activity, especially how it is determining whether to require companies to pay redress to consumers that have been harmed.”  She highlights three recent CFPB settlements…
The CFPB announced that it has entered into a settlement with the owners of payday loan retail outlets that operated under the name “Cash Tyme” in seven states to resolve alleged violations of the Consumer Financial Protection Act, the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act/ Regulation P, and the Truth in Lending Act/ Regulation Z.  The consent order requires Cash Tyme to pay a civil money penalty of $100,000. The CFPB found that Cash Tyme had engaged in unfair…
The FCC’s creation of a database of disconnected phone numbers is expected to significantly reduce the potential TCPA exposure companies face for unknowingly calling a customer at a reassigned phone number.  In this week’s podcast, we review the relevant TCPA legal background, explain how the database will operate and the requirements for obtaining a safe harbor from TCPA liability, and discuss proactive steps companies can take in advance of the database launch. Click here to…
The CFPB published two notices in today’s Federal Register seeking OMB approval for two surveys, one dealing with debt collection and the other with household balance sheets. Debt collection.  The request described in the notice is a resubmission of a previously published request to OMB seeking approval to conduct an online survey of 8,000 individuals as part of its research on debt collection disclosures.  The Bureau withdrew the request in December 2017.  (We surmised that…
The “Blue Wave” hit Nevada last November as well, resulting in the election of Democrats to serve as Governor and Attorney General.  More aggressive enforcement and increased legislative activity are expected.  In this week’s podcast, we discuss the new AG’s likely enforcement priorities, the federal and state law enforcement tools available to him, and state legislation of interest to financial institutions that is likely to be considered in the next session. To listen to the…