Consumer lending

WASHINGTON — The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is seeking to permanently ban a credit provider in Texas from offering any services because of allegations that it ran a "sham credit card" business.

New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman issued an alert Wednesday based on ongoing complaints from consumers reporting being contacted by scammers posing as an attorney from the AG's office.

Bank of America plans to lay off 202 employees in a loan servicing unit in Norfolk, Va. because of the ongoing decline in the number of delinquent mortgages, the company said Tuesday.

Jeffrey Brown, suddenly elevated to CEO of Ally Financial, will have to accelerate the auto lender's diversification plan started by his predecessor, Michael Carpenter. Brown will need to explore new sources of originations, funding and investments.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the U.S. Department of Education announced Tuesday more than $480 million in forgiveness for borrowers who took out Corinthian College’s high-cost private student loans.

Two defendants who took part in an alleged multi-million dollar telemarketing fraud targeting seniors, a scam that included withdrawing money from their accounts without authorization, agreed Tuesday to settle Federal Trade Commission charges.

WASHINGTON — The acquirer of a for-profit college chain sued by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will forgive over $480 million in student debt under a deal announced Tuesday.

Bank of America is poised to exit its student loan portfolio, as banks reduce their red-tape-heavy assets and redeploy cash to create loan growth elsewhere.

U.S. small businesses took out more loans in December, according to a lending study released Tuesday.

Ally Financial, the auto lender bailed out by the U.S. government, appointed Jeffrey J. Brown as chief executive officer, succeeding Michael A. Carpenter, who's also leaving the board.

A California federal judge has approved a $2.75 million settlement with USCB Inc., an accounts receivable management firm, to end allegations that the company violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act and the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit has reversed a District of Nebraska’s order granting class certification to a lawsuit, Powers v. Credit Management Services (CMS) Inc.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and Financial Services Roundtable have launched a public-private initiative to promote effective financial education across the U.S.

The American Civil Liberties Union filed a federal lawsuit Thursday against a judge in Georgia and Judicial Correction Services, claiming the private company's debt collection practices led to poor people being jailed because they couldn't pay.

Two car title lenders settled Federal Trade Commission charges requiring them to stop using deceptive advertising to market title loans. The complaints mark the first time the FTC has taken action against car title lenders.

WASHINGTON — The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Thursday proposed a series of regulatory relief measures for small institutions, especially those in rural areas, to help them provide credit while they try to follow the agency's tough mortgage rules.

TCF Financial took $44 million in charges to rid itself of mortgages made before the housing collapse. A distressed-asset investor purchased more than $400 million in loans from the company, and another pool of bad mortgages may be marked for sale soon.

Ally Financial faced tough questions Thursday about its strategy in the wake of the Detroit automaker's decision to use its own in-house financing arm for its entire subsidized lease business.

The National Consumer Law Center wants the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to ban all out-of-statute debt collections, arguing that the practice of chasing "zombie debts" is unfair, deceptive and abusive.

New York Community Bancorp wants Washington to raise the asset size for systemically important financial institutions, but in the meanwhile its asset sales to stay under the threshold helped to boost profits and its CEO is pursuing possible M&A deals.