Consumer lending

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.

There are more than 43 million student loan borrowers in the U.S., owing nearly $1.3 trillion dollars of debt. The National Foundation for Credit Counseling believes those numbers make it a hotbed for debt relief scams and NFCC officials are warning student borrowers about falling victim.

West York Borough, in York, Pa., is owed an estimated $500,000 as a result of delinquent residential sewer accounts, borough officials reported.

For financial institutions, there are scary parallels between the IRS' failure to protect sensitive personal information and their own such struggles.

For financial institutions, there are scary parallels between the IRS' failure to protect sensitive personal information and their own such struggles.

The total balance of outstanding first mortgages in January jumped to more than $8.3 trillion, an increase of 2.1% year-over-year, according to data from the Equifax National Consumer Credit Trends Report.

The number of credit card accounts in the U.S. is increasing as the economy and job growth continue to improve, according to the American Bankers Association's latest Credit Card Market Monitor report.

Personal income gains, coupled with historically low interest rates, should help cushion borrowers and reduce the likelihood of a rise in defaults despite the recent increase in auto lending, according to a new report from London-based Capital Economics Ltd.

The top Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee on Wednesday asked the FCC to include a range of consumer protections in new rules - including limiting the number and duration of calls that can be made.

Sen. Sherrod Brown is pressing the Federal Communications Commission to limit the number of calls collectors of government-backed debt can make to delinquent borrowers. His appeal comes at a time when banking groups are challenging earlier robo-calling regulations that they say inhibit their ability to collect debt.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is clamping down on student loan lenders and servicers that automatically default on loans when a co-signer declared bankruptcy or dies. Because private student loans are often sold and securitized, some companies' promises to eliminate so-called "auto defaults" are not being upheld.