Consumer lending

Bank officials say they are ready for rising rates; disagree on how much the initial increase would help or hurt lending and the economy; and predict more rate increases next year.

The CFPB on Wednesday issued a bulletin warning the collection industry and lenders - as well as the entire financial services industry - about potentially illegal conduct during in-person collections.

Mortgage lenders have complained bitterly about the risk and uncertainty of having to buy back defective home loans from Fannie Mae. Now Fannie is planning to offer yet another carrot to lenders that have lobbied extensively for relief from loan repurchases.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau charged the company with tactics that included illegal visits to consumers at their homes.

Officials in Horry County, S.C. unveiled a plan Monday for recovering some of an estimated $20 million in unpaid EMS bills.

TransUnion's 2016 auto loan forecast projects stable delinquencies throughout the next year, with delinquency levels remaining flat at 1.11% during year-end 2015 and year-end 2016.

Four alleged mortgage modification scammers are banned from selling debt relief products and services under settlements resolving Federal Trade Commission charges that they deceived homeowners facing foreclosure.

A long-awaited proposal to strengthen payday and small-dollar loan rules is nearing release by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau more than nine months after the agency initially unveiled the plan.

Millennials starting their careers with $30,000 in student loans could enter retirement with far less savings than those without any education debt, according to research from the LIMRA Secure Retirement Institute.

The agency has struggled with how to regulate small-dollar and payday loans in recent years, pushing back its own deadline several times for completing a proposed rulemaking. That could be because the plan is so sweeping, some said.

The Irvine, Calif.-based company plans to offer subprime borrowers the ability to get an auto loan online or through a smartphone.

Debt-buying giant PRA Group, based in Norfolk, Va., has seen negative operating leverage in recent years because of the effects of the global economy, according to Zacks Investment Research.

A bill in Wisconsin would help libraries collect overdue book fines by allowing them to share patron information and use collection agencies or law enforcement agencies.

Dealing with late and missed payments from creditors is a chronic complaint of small businesses. A U.K.-based startup aims to attack the problem with YayPay, an automated invoicing platform with a bill-collections feature that launched this week in the U.S.

Foreclosure filings - default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions - were reported on 104,111 U.S. properties in November, a nearly 10% drop from the previous month and down more than 7% from a year ago.

TransUnion has acquired Trustev, an e-commerce ID and fraud protection startup based in Ireland, in a $44 million deal - including $21 million initially and $23 million more contingent on meeting certain targets.

Industry groups representing a range of companies in retail, technology, financial services and utilities filed eight amicus briefs last week in a D.C. Circuit Court supporting challenges to the FCC's landmark ruling that expanded the agency’s rules under the TCPA.

JPMorgan Chase has shuffled three top executives in credit cards, mortgages and mortgage servicing.

Sections of a new proposal from Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster to curb debt collection practices he believes are abusive has the support of the Missouri Collectors Association.

U.S. District Judge Thomas M. Durkin denied requests for a new trial made by collection agency/mortgage servicer Residential Credit Solutions after it was ordered to pay $2 million to a woman who fought a foreclosure action brought by the firm.