Law and regulation

Several marketers are banned from selling mortgage modification or foreclosure relief services under settlements with the Federal Trade Commission.

With the financial regulatory reform bill signed into law by President Obama, the collection industry is bracing for the expected impact of the broad and complex legislation.

American Express Co. remains cautious about the economy and the current regulatory environment, but the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility, and Disclosure Act will affect the company more than the financial reform, Dan Henry, AmEx executive vice president and chief financial officer, told analysts during a conference call on July 22 to discuss second quarter earnings.

Each 10 basis-point reduction in debit card interchange rates will cost Fifth Third Bancorp about $15 million annually in interchange revenue, Dan Poston, Fifth Third chief financial officer, told analysts during a conference call yesterday to discuss second-quarter earnings, referring to new rates the Federal Reserve Board would determine under a mandate outlined in the new financial-reform law.

The marketers of a “Rapid Debt Reduction” plan who promised to lower interest rates on credit cards – for an upfront fee of up to $899 - agreed to pay $1.5 million to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that they misled consumers.

Credit card issuers have eliminated many practices lawmakers deemed unfair as a result of the Credit CARD Act, most of which went into effect in February. But certain other practices that could put consumers at risk are on the rise, according to a study the Pew Health Group’s Safe Credit Cards Project released July 22.

There is greater concern about what’s to come, than what’s already known about the financial reform bill signed Wednesday by the president. Credit union CEOs attending NAFCU’s 43rd Annual Conference said already burdensome regulatory and compliance demands will become overwhelming in the next few years.

WASHINGTON — President Obama's signing of regulatory reform legislation Wednesday signaled the official end of a hard-fought legislative battle but just the beginning of the tougher task of implementing the new law.

U.S. Bancorp may reduce or eliminate debit card reward programs and offset actions in its acquiring business in response to financial reforms that likely will reduce debit card interchange revenues, Andrew Cecere, vice chairman and chief financial officer, told analysts July 21 during a conference call to discuss second-quarter earnings.

Though the financial-reform bill President Obama signed into law this morning has “too many imponderables” to estimate its financial impact, Well Fargo & Co. likely will experience a combined $525 million pretax impact over the next two quarters from the effects of the Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act and new opt-in requirements for overdraft-protection programs, Howard Atkins, Wells chief financial officer, told analysts during a conference call this morning to discuss second-quarter earnings.

WASHINGTON — President Obama signed into law Wednesday a sweeping overhaul of the nation's financial services system in a widely attended ceremony at the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington.

President Obama is expected to sign the financial reform bill on Wednesday, according to lobbyists and sources on Capitol Hill.

President Obama is widely expected to sign the banking reform act that Congress approved July 15, but practical considerations in implementing the legislation’s debit card interchange provisions could wipe out the protection lawmakers established for smaller institutions, concludes a report banking research firm Celent LLC released this month.

New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo's office announced the criminal conviction and civil settlement in a bribery case and Medicaid scam involving a collection agency and its owner.

Merchant Warehouse Inc., a Boston-based independent sales organization that offers software designed to help small retailers find the lowest-cost processing for card transactions, could benefit from Congress’ approval July 15 of the Dodd-Frank Act, says Henry Helgeson, the company’s co-CEO.

Though the Federal Reserve Board has yet to determine debit card interchange rates as mandated under the federal financial-reform bill Congress approved July 15, the decrease in annualized debit card revenue before mitigation at Bank of America Corp. could approach $2 billion starting in the third quarter of next year, Charles Noski, BofA Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, told analysts this morning during a conference call to discuss second quarter earnings (see story).

Even before President Obama has signed the landmark bank reform bill into law credit union lobbyists were moving their attention to the Federal Reserve, which the new law will direct to monitor and possibly set price caps on debit card interchange.

New York law firm Cohen & Slamowitz, which has 14 lawyers on staff, files an estimated 80,000 lawsuits each year, according to a report in the New York Times.

Federal Recovery Acceptance Inc., dba Paramount Acceptance, a Utah-based collection agency, agreed to pay $55,000 in penalties and fees for conducting unlicensed collections work in Idaho, according to the Idaho Department of Finance.

The U.S. Senate turned away the concerns of community banks, credit unions and the vast majority of Republican members Thursday afternoon to vote final passage of the financial reform bill by a vote of 60 to 39, sending the measure on for President Obama to sign into law.