Consumer lending

An Illinois appeals panel found that collection agency HBLC may have broken federal collection laws by suing a man over a contested debt after the statute of limitations had expired.

Payday loan customers in Alabama would pay less under a bill that won approval Wednesday from the Alabama House Financial Services Committee.

Endorsements from lawmakers such as Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren of the U.S. Postal Service providing banking services overlook how a similar plan faltered after the Panic of 1907.

Rising delinquencies in subprime auto lending predictably have drawn comparisons to the mortgage meltdown of nearly a decade ago.

In what has become almost a grim ritual, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau director Richard Cordray faced a barrage of hostile questioning from Republican members of the House Financial Services Committee, who hammered him over everything from payday lending to regulatory relief for small banks.

The increasingly troubled sector often draws comparisons to the subprime mortgage market of the 2000s. But the more apt analogue is the auto-lending sector of the 1990s.

American Banker Research's Index of Banking Activity, which had the lowest reading in its nearly four-year history in January, revealed that issues in oil-producing states are contributing to decreases in commercial loan applications and approvals.

A lawsuit concerning how the court system in Biloxi, Miss. treats poor people who can’t pay fine won’t continue after the city, the American Civil Liberties Union and a private probation service agreed Tuesday to settle the case.

Signs of the subprime mortgage crisis were obvious long before the 2008 meltdown. Some recognized the danger but most dismissed the threats, arguing that a decline in home values would never happen. Other signs of distress went unnoticed or unappreciated.

Many people - across all age groups - lack retirement savings.

The Russian cabinet has reportedly approved a bill that would impose restrictions on collection agencies, including banning "psychological pressure" and the disclosure of debtors' personal information to a third party.

Santander Consumer USA Holdings said that it is changing certain accounting practices after the Securities and Exchange Commission raised questions about the firm’s methodology.

The CFPB wants a federal district court to enter a final judgment to shut down a student debt relief scheme that allegedly charged borrowers millions of dollars in illegal upfront fees for federal student loan services.

The Education Department could ban colleges from including mandatory arbitration clauses in student enrollment agreements. The proposal is part of ongoing rule-making talks focused on creating a new debt relief process for defrauded student loan borrowers.

The last individual defendant in a mortgage modification scam is banned from selling debt relief and mortgage-related products and services and from telemarketing under a court order obtained by the Federal Trade Commission.

Consumers' expectations about earnings, income and spending improved in February, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s latest Survey of Consumer Expectations.

China is testing a program that allows banks with bad loans to sell that debt to investors, The New York Times reported Saturday.

The Justice Department is notifying state and municipal court systems in a letter sent Monday that defendants who fail to pay fines or fees shouldn’t be jailed. The letter warns that such practices run afoul of the Constitution and harm trust within communities.

A top CFPB official said student loan companies are at risk of breaking the law if they place people in default when the co-signer of their loan dies or declares bankruptcy. The CFPB’s latest Supervisory Highlights report focuses on problems in the student loan industry.

A left-leaning group is attacking one of the most prominent Democrats in Washington as being insufficiently tough on payday lenders. The ad shows how once-obscure financial issues are commanding a higher profile this election season.