On May 21, a panel of the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals heard argument in Steidinger v. Blackstone Medical Services on whether text messages are covered as “telephone calls” in § 227(c)(5) of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). While questions asked by judges during oral arguments are no guarantee of how the court will
In this episode of Moving the Metal: The Auto Finance Podcast, hosts Brooke Conkle and Chris Capurso examine the evolving fraud threats facing auto dealers and finance companies, from income and identity fraud to vehicle-related scams like forged VINs and deceptive trade-ins. They explore how these schemes translate into chargebacks, consumer lawsuits, and regulatory scrutiny;
In this episode of The Consumer Finance Podcast, Chris Willis, Lori Sommerfield, Taylor Gess, and Lane Page discuss the CFPB’s sweeping final amendments to Subpart A of Regulation B. The group unpacks the elimination of the disparate impact legal theory from ECOA, the narrowing of the discouragement standard (including what it means for targeted advertising),
On May 19, Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger (D) indicated that she intends to veto SB 229, a pending bill which would have created a Virginia state court class action mechanism and would have modified the Virginia Consumer Protection Act (VCPA) in critical ways. Governor Spanberger initially noted that she “approve[d] the general purpose of this
Yesterday, President Trump signed an Executive Order titled “Integrating Financial Technology Innovation into Regulatory Frameworks.” The Order directs federal financial regulators to review and streamline regulations, guidance, supervisory practices, and application processes that may impede financial technology (fintech) innovation and competition, and it asks the Federal Reserve to evaluate potential direct access to
On May 15, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) finalized two closely linked rules on mortgage escrow accounts that respond directly to the issues we discussed in our recent post, Second Circuit on Remand in Cantero: New York Escrow-Interest Law Is Preempted, Over a Vigorous Dissent. In that decision, the Second
To keep you informed of recent activities, below are several of the most significant federal events that have influenced the Consumer Financial Services industry over the past week.
On May 13, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) filed and simultaneously settled a lawsuit against online digital photo and video platform Shutterstock, Inc. in the Southern District of New York, alleging that the company used deceptive “negative option” subscription practices in violation of § 5 of the FTC Act and the Restore Online Shoppers’ Confidence
Marking the latest development in the trend toward increased regulation of automatically renewing subscription offers, on April 8, the New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP) proposed what would be the nation’s first municipal “Click to Cancel” rule. This proposed regulation would mirror existing state law requirements providing for consumer rights and
In this episode of The Consumer Finance Podcast, Chris Willis talks with Dan Smith, president and CEO of the Consumer Data Industry Association, about current challenges and changes in the U.S. consumer reporting system. They discuss how reliable credit information supports fair lending decisions and helps lenders understand a borrower’s ability to repay. The
