Supreme Court Punts on Debt Collector Lawsuit

Receiving Wide Coverage ...

Application Denied: Monday's verdict from the high court? Thanks, but no thanks. The Supreme Court declined to review an appeals court decision over whether debt collectors must follow state usury laws, making way for a class-action suit to proceed back in district court. For now, the industry remains in limbo.

"We're sort of at halftime of the game here. And we still need to see how the second half of the game plays out," Brian Korn, a partner at Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, told American Banker.

The plaintiff, Saliha Madden, has argued that Midland Funding, a debt collector that bought troubled loans from Bank of America, could not charge a 27 percent interest rate on her charged-off credit card debt under the law in her home state of New York. A federal appeals court ruled in Madden's favor last May, spurring fears about whether the decision could be extended to apply to marketplace lenders and others in consumer finance. New York Times, Bloomberg, Reuters

Life After Brexit: The markets are starting to calm as the world comes to grips with Britain's decision to leave the European Union. Still, bank stocks have faced a "bloodbath" in recent days.

Bankers are pressing regulators about what to do next. Here come the lawyers and consultants.

Wall Street Journal

Big Cuts: Lending Club said this morning that it is slashing 179 jobs, as the online lender struggles to regain its footing amidst slowing loan volumes and an executive shake-up.

Hard Times: The Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas reported a customer data breach on Monday, the latest major hotel chain to face security problems.

New York Times

Subprime Woes: A federal jury in Brooklyn on Monday found Emigrant Savings Bank guilty of discriminating against minority borrowers, for reportedly charging them predatory rates on subprime mortgages.

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