Consumer lending

The Supreme Court on Monday ruled that private attorneys hired by states are not in violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act when using official letterhead to collect a debt. The case has been watched closely by financial institutions for its interpretation of “false, deceptive or misleading” practices.

Two Ohio law firms did not use illegal tactics when they mailed debt collection letters on stationery bearing the name of Ohio’s attorney general, according to a unanimous Supreme Court ruling Monday.

Favorable treatment under upcoming Consumer Financial Protection Bureau rules has led banks to signal interest in small-dollar loans. But if they can serve the market profitably, why aren't they already doing it?

Complaints against debt collectors filed with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau dropped last month from 3,505 complaints in March to 2,816 complaints in April, a 19.7% decrease.

The May issue of The Atlantic contains an insightful story that puts a face to one of the biggest economic issues facing this country: the erosion of household savings in America and the resulting traumatic impact on the middle class.

Real Time Resolutions Inc. has acquired Account Outsourcing Group’s call center in Jamaica. Financial details of the deal have not been disclosed.

A new survey indicates more future college students plan to take out loans for their education and their parents are more willing to help them with the costs.

The pervasiveness of consumers' credit problems highlights why the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's upcoming short-term lending rules should avoid unintended consequences.

The state of Illinois has spent more than $900 million on penalties for not paying its bills on time over the past six years, according to the Chicago-based government watchdog group, Civic Federation.

The total balance of write-offs year-to-date through March for first mortgages, home equity lines of credit and home equity loans is $9.5 billion, a nine-year low for Q1 and a year-over-year decrease of 22.7%, according to Equifax's National Consumer Credit Trends Report.

RealtyTrac's latest U.S. Residential Property Loan Origination Report shows 1.4 million loans were originated on U.S. residential properties in the first quarter, the lowest level since the first quarter of 2014.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has charged a Mississippi company with refusing to disclose check-cashing fees to consumers, deceptively pressuring borrowers into taking out multiple payday loans and keeping overpayments.

The CFPB filed a lawsuit Wednesday charging a check casher and payday lending company of tricking and trapping customers at its 43 stores in Mississippi and at locations in Louisiana and Alabama.

Payday lenders on Wednesday pushed back against Google's plan to ban payday loan advertisements, arguing it was discriminatory and "a form of censorship."

Debt-buying giant Encore Capital Group Inc. reported first quarter earnings of $25.7 million.

Navient has been recognized as a 2020 Women on Boards Winning "W" Company for the second consecutive year. The national award is presented to companies with at least 20% women on their board of directors.

Google said Wednesday it will ban ads for payday loans to protect its customers from what it considers deceptive and harmful financial products. The ban goes into effect on July 13.

Defunct online lender Integrity Advance has filed a lawsuit accusing the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau of launching an enforcement action against the company without the legal authority to do so.

If alternative small-business lenders don't get engaged in the regulatory dialogue, they risk letting a few bad apples determine their fate.

The steady stream of bad news continues for online marketplace lenders.