A federal district court recently refused to dismiss a complaint alleging that a real estate marketing company operated its “co-marketing program” among real-estate agents and mortgage lenders in a manner that violated the anti-kickback provision of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (“RESPA”). In particular, the court concluded that plaintiffs in the case had plausibly alleged that: lenders paid into the co-marketing program more, and sometimes much more, than the reasonable market value of their…

On April 29, the New York Department of Financial Services (NY DFS)—the state’s principal banking and insurance regulator—announced that it is creating a new Consumer Protection and Financial Enforcement (CPFE) division. The new division, described by commentators as a state-level version of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), or “mini CFPB,” will have responsibility for consumer financial enforcement and have oversight over consumer financial services institutions within the state. The NY DFS’s announcement highlighted…

As we anticipated last week, today the CFPB issued its much anticipated proposal to adopt the first substantive regulations to govern the activity of debt collectors under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) since that law’s passage in 1977 (Proposal). The Proposal, which runs over 530 pages, would among other things: set limits on the number of calls that debt collectors may place to reach consumers on a weekly basis; clarify how collectors…

On May 2, 2019, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York denied the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency’s (OCC) motion to dismiss a complaint brought against it by the Maria T. Vullo, superintendent of the New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS).  The complaint had challenged the OCC’s authority to provide its special-purpose charter to fintech companies under the National Bank Act (NBA).  Click here and here for…

As soon as next week, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is expected to propose the first substantive regulations under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) since the law’s enactment in 1977. This rulemaking has the potential to substantially clarify and modernize many of the FDCPA’s requirements, with important implications not only for debt collection agencies and others who fit the law’s narrow definitions of “debt collector,” but for any entity engaged in the…

On Thursday, March 28, California Governor Gavin Newsom announced that Manuel “Manny” Alvarez, 38, has been appointed Commissioner of the California Department of Business Oversight (DBO). Alvarez is currently general counsel, chief compliance officer and corporate secretary at Affirm Inc., the point-of-sale lending platform founded by PayPal’s Max Levchin in 2012. Alvarez’s appointment requires California State Senate confirmation. See the Governor’s press release here.…