December 2015 – Consumer Financial Services Watch

TRID/KBYO Rule: The CFPB Tries to Calm Lender Fears

Dec 30 2015

On December 29, 2015, CFPB Director Richard Cordray responded to MBA President and CEO David Stevens’ desperate plea for clarity to address what the MBA claimed is a significant rejection by large aggregators and investors of correspondent lending channel loans for minor or technical TRID errors. In its December 21, 2015 letter to Director Cordray, Mr. Stevens noted that these minor and technical errors include “issues with the alignment or shading of forms, rounding errors, time stamps with the wrong time zone, or check boxes that are improperly completed on the LE.” The MBA feared that without some clarity from the CFPB disruption and liquidity issues would overwhelm the mortgage markets.

United States Supreme Court Rejects California State Courts’ Attempt to Sidestep Federal Arbitration Act Preemption on Class Action Waivers

Dec 16 2015

By: Andrew C. Glass, Robert W. Sparkes III, Roger L. Smerage

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that a California state court’s decision striking down a class action waiver in an arbitration agreement was an improper attempt to evade the Supreme Court’s 2011 landmark decision in AT&T Mobility LLC v. Concepcion. See DirecTV, Inc. v. Imburgia, 577 U.S. — (No. 14-462) (Dec. 14, 2015). Concepcion held that the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”) preempts state law to the extent it purports to bar the inclusion of class action waivers in arbitration agreements. Imburgia reiterates that holding and concludes that because the California court had interpreted the subject arbitration agreement in a manner “restricted to [the] field” of arbitration, as opposed to contracts generally, the interpretation could not withstand scrutiny under the FAA.

Treasury Department Issues Cybersecurity Checklist for Financial Institutions: What Might Apply to Your Financial Services Company?

Dec 14 2015

By: Mark A. Rush, Thomas C. Ryan, Joseph A. Valenti, Samuel P. Reger

On November 17, 2015, Deputy Treasury Secretary Sarah Bloom Raskin devoted her remarks at the Clearing House Annual Conference to financial sector cybersecurity. She concluded with a list of recommendations for handling cybersecurity at financial institutions. In light of them, prudent in-house counsel, compliance officers, and security personnel may want to review their company’s cybersecurity plan to determine which of the deputy secretary’s recommendations are applicable. This Alert recounts Deputy Secretary Raskin’s “to-do list” and provides step-by-step suggestions regarding cybersecurity response plans in light of it.

To read the full alert, click here.

What’s Driving the CFPB’s Latest Administrative Enforcement Action?

Dec 10 2015

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) latest enforcement action suggests that the CFPB may seek to use its administrative enforcement authority to pursue claims of unfair or deceptive conduct that would otherwise be time-barred and that pre-date the agency’s formation. The CFPB Director’s ultimate decision on these issues—and any court decisions that may result from any appeal—are likely to have widespread implications for the agency’s enforcement powers.

On November 18, the CFPB filed a Notice of Charges (essentially an administrative complaint) against Integrity Advance, LLC and its CEO and president, James R. Carnes. The Notice of Charges, which was made public last week, alleges that from May 15, 2008 through December 2012, Integrity Advance and Carnes engaged in unfair and deceptive conduct, and that Integrity Advance also committed violations of the Truth in Lending Act (TILA) and the Electronic Funds Transfer Act (EFTA) in the origination of online payday loans.

General Counsel Rank K&L Gates Among Top 10 Law Firms for Client Service for Second Straight Year

Dec 08 2015

For a second consecutive year, global law firm K&L Gates LLP has been identified by general counsel as one of the top 10 law firms for client service excellence, according to the “2016 BTI Client Service 30” released today. K&L Gates is one of only six firms to rank in the top 10 for client service in each of the last two years.

To read the firm’s News Advisory, please click here.

CFPB Expands Its Targeting of For-Profit Schools and Pushes Jurisdictional Limits

Dec 04 2015

After suing two of the nation’s largest for-profit school chains, ITT and Corinthian, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is continuing its push to police the for-profit school industry. Bridgepoint Education, Inc. recently disclosed that on August 10, 2015, Bridgepoint and Ashford University received Civil Investigative Demands (CIDs) from the CFPB related to the CFPB’s investigation to determine “whether for-profit post-secondary-education companies” have engaged in unlawful acts or practices related to the advertising, marketing or origination of private student loans. And on October 29, 2015, the CFPB filed a lawsuit to compel the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools (ACICS) to comply with a CID that the CFPB had issued to it on August 25, 2015. That CID concerns an investigation into possible legal violations “in connection with accrediting for-profit colleges.” These two actions suggest the CFPB will continue to pursue the for-profit industry, including associated entities such as ACICS that provide accreditation to such schools, apparently without concern over possibly exceeding its jurisdictional limits. This alert reviews the CFPB’s cases against for-profit schools to date and discusses the implications of the CIDs issued to Bridgepoint and ACICS.

Archive:December 2015