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The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued a stark warning Wednesday to banks and other firms that exchange information with consumer reporting agencies, saying such companies will be heavily scrutinized for how they resolve customer disputes.
September 4 -
New York financial regulator Benjamin Lawsky has proposed rules that would require improved record keeping and overhaul other practices at banks and third-party debt collectors.
July 25 -
Senate lawmakers held a hearing Wednesday to urge regulators to clamp down on a debt collection industry criticized for poor documentation practices and conflicts of interest.
July 17 -
The CFPB is taking aggressive action against the debt collection industry, emphasizing it plans to hold banks responsible for third-party actions.
July 12 -
The Office of the Comptroller of Currency has begun issuing its examiners "best practice" guidelines to end big banks' use of faulty records in the sale of defaulted consumer debt. The move could threaten billions of dollars of sales to collections agencies.
July 2
WASHINGTON The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has slapped JPMorgan Chase with a cease and desist order related to the bank's debt collection practices and its failure to comply with the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act.
The order requires the bank to provide remediation to affected customers and correct deficiencies in its practices and procedures. The amount of the remediation has not yet been determined. The agency said the deficiencies related to the "preparation and notarization of affidavits and other sworn documents" used in debt collection litigation and its SCRA program.
In a statement, the bank said it had agreed to repay affected consumers, saying it covered a "small percentage of credit card, student loan, auto loan, business banking and commercial banking customers who defaulted on their loan or contract." A source familiar with the situation said the bank has already repaid affected consumers.
The bank said the issues were discovered by Chase in internal reviews in 2010.
"We have taken extensive steps over the past two years to remediate the issues that affected customers and redesign our practices," said Bill Wallace, head of operations for consumer and community banking. "Although these issues affected less than 1% of Chase customers, any mistake is regrettable and does not reflect the high standards we set for ourselves and our commitment to providing all customers an outstanding experience. We are committed to fixing this and getting it right."
