Consumer lending

A municipal tax collection agency in Ohio has confirmed it lost personal data for an estimated 50,000 people who filed tax forms with the agency.

Associated Banc-Corp in Green Bay, Wis., will increase its fourth-quarter allowance for loan losses by $13 million to compensate for potential late payments or defaults on loans in its energy portfolio.

Overall consumer borrowing grew from October to November but decelerated to the slowest pace since January as Americans took out fewer loans for big-ticket items such as cars and education.

The FTC and the State of Florida on Friday charged a payment processing business with credit card laundering and illegally assisting and facilitating a nationwide debt relief telemarketing scheme that allegedly bilked millions of dollars from consumers.

Macy’s has announced plans to consolidate four credit and customer service center facilities into three, resulting in 4,800 job cuts for the Cincinnati-based retail giant.

Both consumers with health insurance and those lacking any coverage are reporting problems paying medical bills, according to a survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation and The New York Times.

While it searches for a permanent deputy director, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has named David Silberman to serve as its acting No. 2 starting next week.

A number of community banks, eager to make inroads with underbanked clients, are looking to offer employer-sponsored payroll loans.

The FTC on Thursday announced it has stopped illegal debt collection tactics of several debt collection operations. The crackdown includes four cases highlighted in Collections & Credit Risk. The FTC issued a statement about the cases to point out the success of Operation Collection Protection.

After several years of tussling with mortgage rules and their implementation, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is focusing on several areas that will primarily affect the nonbank market, including debt collection, payday-type loans and prepaid cards.

Most U.S. states have established student loan forgiveness programs that are often offered to public service employees to help borrowers who have federal aid or don’t qualify for Department of Education programs.

Banks finally appear ready to turn the corner on how they view overdrafts — and the change of direction could help not only the industry's public image, but also the bottom line.

The Federal Trade Commission is publishing procedures for the administrative collection of debts, including those arising under judgments and orders of the FTC.

Two payday lenders have settled Federal Trade Commission charges that they illegally charged consumers across the country undisclosed and inflated fees.

Consumer credit is better than ever before, even as Americans households have started levering up. But the big question for banks looking to re-commit to consumer lending is how.

Banks have made changes to overdrafts, such as lowering fees offering clearer explanations. They better, as the CFPB will soon offer new rules for overdrafts. Plus, overdraft revenue has declined at many banks. Still unanswered is the question of how to offer short-term credit, if overdrafts disappear.

A key consumer confidence measure showed consumers had a more positive view of the economy in December than a month earlier and their optimism about the labor market also has improved.

After the death of former House Financial Services Committee Chairman Michael Oxley on Jan. 1, the media largely focused on his most famous accomplishment: the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.

A New York resident can bring a lawsuit in federal court to challenge debt collection practices under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act for a loan that was discharged in bankruptcy, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled Monday.

Credit Bureau Systems Inc. has acquired the business of Fidelis EMS Billing LLC for undisclosed financial terms.