Consumer lending

Ally Financial reported strong loan and deposit growth in the first quarter, but a shift in the makeup of its automobile loan portfolio forced the Detroit company to nearly double its loan-loss provision from a year earlier.

Pressler and Pressler responded to the CFPB's legal action announced Monday. The law firm points out that the settlement ultimately involves no consumer redress or restitution, no invalidation of judgments and no findings of the use of improper affidavit practices.

The CFPB ordered New Jersey-based collection law firm Pressler and Pressler LLP and debt buyer New Century Financial Services Inc. to stop churning out collection lawsuits allegedly based on nonexistent or flimsy evidence.

The prepaid card industry is ramping up its advocacy efforts on Capitol Hill as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau readies a final rule targeting such products.

The expansion of Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act is reducing medical debt in collections for some low-income consumers, according to a study from the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER).

Over the past year, threats of steep downgrades have chilled secondary investor demand for federally guaranteed student loans, but two recent securitizations suggest that the market is beginning to thaw.

The Department of Education wants to make student loan payments easier through the launch of a single Web portal for federal student loan borrowers.

Recent prosecutions against lenders accused of usury violations will test the government's use of a law more commonly known in organized crime cases.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is expected on May 5 to release a proposal that would allow consumers to ban together in class action lawsuits even if there is an arbitration agreement.

The Coalition to Improve Credit Education, a group that will focus on policy issues involving helping consumers understand how they can improve their credit reports and scores, launched this week with the support of more than 20 community development, financial literacy and minority leadership organizations.