Debt collection

WASHINGTON — In expansive comments, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Richard Cordray provided new details Tuesday about proposals due soon from the agency while offering insights into an internal battle over easing a key mortgage rule. He only briefly touched on debt collection rules.

Many colleges partner with banks to offer their students special accounts through exclusive bank-school marketing arrangements. Unfortunately, the benefits afforded to students through these accounts are grossly overstated, while the potential harm the arrangements cause can be significant.

A sweepstakes operator is permanently banned from direct mail marketing and is liable for a $9.5 million judgment under a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission, which charged her with violating a previous court order by running a sweepstakes scam.

More than 100,000 potential plaintiffs can pursue class-action litigation accusing Leucadia National Corp. and a law firm of illegally winning default judgments in debt collection cases, a federal appeals court in New York ruled Tuesday.

New York resident Nadia Figueroa pleaded guilty Tuesday for her role in stealing customer data while employed as a JPMorgan Chase bank teller. The scheme netted $850,000.

A Switzerland-based firm on Tuesday acquired Akcelerant, a U.S.-based financial software provider active in the accounts receivable management space.

Consumer borrowing - including credit card balances, student loans and auto loans - increased in December, according to the Federal Reserve’s monthly consumer credit report.

A total of 952 members of the U.S. armed forces will receive $123.4 million from a settlement with five mortgage servicers announced Monday by the U.S. Justice Department.

The FTC has issued a report detailing recent collection industry enforcement actions. Under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, the CFPB must submit annual reports to Congress on the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau soon will release its first draft of regulations aimed at governing a wide range of short-term loans - including credit backed by car titles, some installment loans and often-criticized payday loan.

FICO and TransUnion announced Monday a renewed multi-year agreement to provide FICO scores to the U.S. banking community.

Brevard County, Fla. officials reported this week plans to write off $6.6 million for emergency medical service transports to area hospitals from the budget year ended Sept. 30, 2013.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau can learn a lot from the Centennial State.

Wells Fargo Bank will pay $4 million for credit card-related violations uncovered by a New York Department of Financial Services examination of the bank's former affiliate, according to New York officials.

A group of Utah-based defendants claiming to be legal experts in loan modifications have settled Federal Trade Commission charges that they broke the law by conning consumers into paying hefty fees for apparently worthless debt relief services.

Two former Sallie Mae executives have started a new student loan financing company.

Most families are on financially unsteady ground even as the national economy appears to be recovering from the recession, according to a new analysis.

A new report on zombie foreclosures found that as of the end of January, 142,462 homes actively in the foreclosure process had been vacated by the homeowners before the bank repossessed the property, accounting for 25% of all active foreclosures.

A subprime credit card company in Delaware will pay nearly $3 million in refunds and penalties for allegedly charging fees that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau says violated federal law.

ACA International, DBA International and the National Association of Retail Collection Attorneys are part of a coalition requesting that a key federal regulator address issues related to updating the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.