Last week, the CFPB Ombudsman’s Office released its eighth annual report covering the Office’s activities during fiscal year 2019.  The Ombudsman’s Office is intended to serve as an independent, impartial, and confidential resource that assists consumers, financial entities, consumer or trade groups, and others in informally resolving process issues with the CFPB. In the annual report, the Office provides examples of its work in FY 2019 and discusses the types of internal and external engagement…

The U.S. Supreme Court has denied the Petition for a Writ of Certiorari Before Judgment filed by All American Check Cashing. In its petition, All American sought to have the Supreme Court hear its interlocutory appeal from the district court’s ruling upholding the CFPB’s constitutionality rather than wait for a ruling on its appeal from the Fifth Circuit.  Having filed its petition before the Supreme Court granted Seila Law’s certiorari petition, All American argued…

My colleagues and I have the privilege of advising numerous clients on income share agreements (ISAs), including universities, service providers, and institutional investors. So we were excited by reports that the U.S. Department of Education (ED) plans to publish a Federal Register notice for an Experimental Sites Initiative (ESI) that would facilitate ISA programs at Title IV schools. Under an ESI, ED seeks to test out new approaches to financial aid by waiving certain…

Google has updated its financial products and services policy to restrict the advertisement of debt settlement, debt management services, and credit repair services. Ads for credit repair services will no longer be allowed while ads for debt settlement or debt management services will be allowed only if the advertiser is certified by Google.  Certification will be available only in certain countries.  To be certified by Google, debt settlement and debt management services advertisers must be…

Although it will not be published in time for holiday gift giving, pre-orders are being taken for a new book written by former CFPB Director Richard Cordray.  The book, to be published by Oxford University Press, is titled “Watchdog: How Protecting Consumers Can Save Our Families, Our Economy, and Our Democracy” and includes a foreword by Senator Elizabeth Warren.    …

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (the “FDIC”) has published a request for information in the Federal Register (the “RFI”) seeking comment on approaches it uses, or is considering using, to analyze the effects of its regulatory actions and rulemaking. Among other things, the FDIC seeks to improve the quality of its analysis by incorporating the following in its rulemaking: (i) a statement of the need for the proposed action; (ii) an identification of a baseline…