John L. Culhane, Jr.

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DOJ settles redlining lawsuit against First Merchants Bank

By John L. Culhane, Jr. on June 18, 2019

The U.S. Department of Justice announced last Thursday that it had reached an agreement with First Merchants Bank, an Indiana state-chartered bank, to settle the redlining lawsuit that the DOJ filed against the bank on June 13, 2019 simultaneously with a settlement agreement and agreed order. The agreement represents the second fair lending settlement entered into by the Republican-led DOJ under the Trump administration. (The first was entered into with KleinBank in May 2018…

Consumer Finance Monitor

Federal Reserve issues report on CRA roundtables

By John L. Culhane, Jr. on June 17, 2019

The Federal Reserve Board has issued a report, “Perspectives from Main Street: Stakeholder Feedback on Modernizing the Community Reinvestment Act,” that summarizes the feedback it received during a series of roundtable discussions on the current state of, and potential revisions to, the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA). Last August, the OCC issued an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPR) in which it invited public comment in an effort “to solicit ideas for building a new…

Consumer Finance Monitor

Civil rights groups question CFPB oversight of student loan market

By John L. Culhane, Jr. on June 11, 2019

Several civil rights groups have sent a letter to Director Kraninger questioning whether the CFPB is engaging in the oversight of the student loan market that they believe is necessary to “root out potentially discriminatory practices.” In particular, the groups suggest that access to income-driven repayment programs is being provided “in an unequal way, with a disproportionate impact by race or sex.” The groups point to statements made by Director Kraninger at her March 2018 …

Consumer Finance Monitor

FCC votes to approve call blocking declaratory ruling and adopts NPRM on caller ID authentication

By Daniel JT McKenna & John L. Culhane, Jr. on June 7, 2019

The FCC announced that it has approved the declaratory ruling previously circulated by Chairman Pai that would allow voice service providers to start offering default call-blocking programs that are based on reasonable analytics. The FCC also voted to adopt a notice of proposed rulemaking that, as described in the FCC’s press release, would “require service providers to implement the SHAKEN/STIR caller ID authentication framework, if major voice service providers fail to do so by the…

Consumer Finance Monitor

Dept. of Education provides guidance on litigation trigger in “borrower defense” final rule’s financial responsibility standards

By John L. Culhane, Jr. on June 6, 2019

In December 2018, the Department of Education announced that it would begin implementing its “borrower defense” final rule which was published in November 2016. In addition to its provisions that address a student’s ability to assert a school’s misconduct as a defense to repayment of a federal student loan and its ban on all pre-dispute arbitration agreements for borrower defense claims by schools receiving Title IV assistance under the Higher Education Act, the final rule…

Consumer Finance Monitor

Democratic lawmakers seek information from Dept. of Education about income share agreements

By John L. Culhane, Jr. on June 5, 2019

Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren, together with Democratic Representatives Ayanna Pressley and Katie Porter, have sent a letter to the Department of Education expressing concern about reports that the Department “is exploring an experiment with Income Share Agreements (ISAs) in federal higher education programs.” The letter states that the lawmakers are “seeking to learn more about the Department’s plans in order to evaluate whether these plans are in the best interest of students and within the…

Consumer Finance Monitor

GAO report on private student loan rehabilitation programs calls on CFPB to provide clarification

By John L. Culhane, Jr. on May 29, 2019

A new report issued by the Government Accountability Office titled, “Private Student Loans: Clarification from CFPB Could Help Ensure More Consistent opportunities and Treatment for Borrowers,” calls on the CFPB to provide clarification to nonbank private student loan lenders regarding private student loan rehabilitation programs. The Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act (Economic Growth Act) passed by Congress last year amended Section 623 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act to allow…

Consumer Finance Monitor

Washington, D.C. Releases Annual Report Forms and Filing Deadlines

By Brian Slagle & John L. Culhane, Jr. on May 20, 2019

As recently reported, the Washington, D.C. Department of Insurance, Securities, and Banking (DISB) published a Bulletin in late April reminding those who service student education loans in the District of Columbia of their obligation to file an annual report. The DISB has now released the required forms for both the 2018 and 2019 filings. In an email to servicers, the Commissioner explained that the DISB was waiting to release the 2018 annual report form…

Consumer Finance Monitor

FCC’s call blocking plans could create problems for collections

By Daniel JT McKenna & John L. Culhane, Jr. on May 20, 2019

Plans announced on May 15 by the FCC to empower voice service providers to offer more aggressive call-blocking programs could create significant problems for creditors and debt collectors. In addition to allowing providers to block unwanted calls by default, the FCC plans to allow providers to offer opt-in blocking in which a consumer can elect to block calls from any numbers that are not on the consumer’s own contact list. Such opt-in blocking could result in…

Consumer Finance Monitor

CFPB relationship with Dept. of Education discussed in Kraninger letter on student loan servicer supervision

By John L. Culhane, Jr. on May 20, 2019

In a letter sent to Senator Elizabeth Warren regarding the CFPB’s supervision of student loan servicers, CFPB Director Kathy Kraninger discussed the Bureau’s relationship with the Department of Education. In the letter, Director Kraninger responded to a question from Senator Warren regarding the guidance issued by the ED in December 2017 to student loan servicers about the application of the Privacy Act of 1974 to certain student loan records. Director Kraninger stated that since December…

John L. Culhane, Jr.

DOJ settles redlining lawsuit against First Merchants Bank

Federal Reserve issues report on CRA roundtables

Civil rights groups question CFPB oversight of student loan market

FCC votes to approve call blocking declaratory ruling and adopts NPRM on caller ID authentication

Dept. of Education provides guidance on litigation trigger in “borrower defense” final rule’s financial responsibility standards

Democratic lawmakers seek information from Dept. of Education about income share agreements

GAO report on private student loan rehabilitation programs calls on CFPB to provide clarification

Washington, D.C. Releases Annual Report Forms and Filing Deadlines

FCC’s call blocking plans could create problems for collections

CFPB relationship with Dept. of Education discussed in Kraninger letter on student loan servicer supervision

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