Policy & Regulation

Collectors are mulling a procedural overhaul after a three-judge panel said the practice of using vendors to inform consumers about outstanding debts is illegal. The case may also complicate the CFPB's upcoming rule on electronic messaging.

Chairman Jelena McWilliams said the agency will issue a request for information "to learn more about what banks are doing, what banks are considering doing and what, if anything, the FDIC should be doing in this space.”

While the eventual emergence from lockdown will help ease the pressure on overworked compliance departments, there is still an obvious need for tools that will make the anti-money laundering process simpler and stress-free, says SmartSearch's Martin Cheek.

Acting Comptroller of the Currency Michael Hsu said he plans to prioritize "solving urgent problems and addressing pressing issues" until the Biden administration selects a permanent head of the agency.

The FDIC said Financial Pacific Leasing, a subsidiary of the Oregon bank, charged undisclosed fees to borrowers, made excessive collection calls and disclosed information about customer debts to third parties.

The central bank wants to adopt new rules to state clearly that merchants must have a choice of debit networks for card-not-present transactions.

Fannie and Freddie's regulator says the companies must comply with the new Qualified Mortgage standard by the summer, while the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has extended the deadline to 2022. The conflicting timetables have stoked uncertainty in the market.

The Treasury Department announced that Michael Hsu, a senior official at the Federal Reserve, would lead the national bank regulator until a Senate-confirmed comptroller is in place.

The banks disclosed this week that they are under scrutiny for conduct that may have harmed consumers. The timing raises questions about whether the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau under President Biden is poised to bring more enforcement actions against large banks than it did under Trump-appointed Director Kathy Kraninger.

The visibility of automated transactions provides a clear view of the flow of transactions, says Hummingbird's Joe Robinson.