Consumer lending

The FTC has closed the book on a fraudulent debt collection scheme that processed payments for payday loan debts they didn’t owe.

The deal to buy TradeKing would allow the online-only bank to offer wealth-building products to its roughly 1.1 million depositors. The additional low-cost deposits could also help fund loan growth as it looks to expand beyond auto lending and into mortgages and credit cards.

Officials in Pittsylvania County, Va. are seeking proposals from firms to provide collections and billing services for the county's medical transport system.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is about to issue new rules that will define the future of small dollar and non-prime lending in our nation.

For the benefit of consumers who rely on nonprime credit and the lenders that provide it, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau rules offering clarity and consumer protections can't come soon enough.

GOP lawmakers and witnesses at a Senate Banking Committee hearing pointedly criticized the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Tuesday, setting the stage for a likely contentious hearing with the agency's director later in the week.

Ally Financial announced Tuesday that it had agreed to buy the online brokerage firm TradeKing Group for approximately $275 million. TradeKing, based in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., has roughly $4.5 billion in client assets.

ITT Technical Institute exaggerated its job-placement rates by counting "any job graduates got that somehow involved the use of a computer" and misled prospective students about the quality of its programs, according to a lawsuit filed Monday.

A federal judge in Michigan has dismissed a proposed class-action lawsuit accusing debt buyer Encore Capital Group of suing consumers over old debts that were no longer legally enforceable.

Two appeals court judges raised constitutional questions Monday about the structure of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in the agency's case alleging that PHH Corp. accepted illegal kickbacks.

Hammond-Henry Hospital in Geneseo, Ill. filed a seven-count lawsuit in Henry County (Ill.) Circuit Court alleging breach of contract by collection agency Allied Business Accounts, doing business as Health Care Billing Services.

The FTC has published a reminder to debt collectors about Fair Debt Collection Practices Act compliance risks created by the use of social media or text messages in connection with debt collection efforts.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has amassed more than $300 million in its consumer relief fund, nearly double the amount from a year earlier - sparking questions about why the fund is so large.

Debt collection complaints topped the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s annual list in 2015 with 31% of total complaints, but the number dipped 3.5% to 85,200.

Poplar Bluff, Mo. city officials are looking into hiring a collection agency to pursue more than $200,000 in debt owed by a former internet provider.

Two large national groups want a federal court to force the Department of Education to release documents showing how it oversees private collection agencies and collects student loan debt.

The Dallas-based subprime consumer lender backed off controversial changes to its method for calculating its quarterly provisions for loan losses, forcing it to revise earnings downward for the last two years. It also announced that it had found more accounting issues.

Competition is spurring subprime auto lenders to stretch their underwriting guidelines for new customers, raising fears of another bust. In February, 5.16% of securitized subprime auto loans were at least 60 days past due, according to Fitch Ratings. That slightly exceeded the level of late payments at the height of the Great Recession. Here's a guide to who's doing what in the market, courtesy of our colleagues at Asset Securitization Report.

The CFPB has ordered Student Aid Institute Inc., a company accused of preying on student loan borrowers, to shut down, cancel all contracts and stop participating in the industry.

A federal court halted a Chicago-area operation that allegedly threatened consumers to collect phony payday loan debts and provided portfolios of fake debt to other debt collectors. It's the FTC’s first case alleging that practice.