AAAAAAThe Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) recently released the latest version of its Supervisory Highlights report, which summarizes the findings of the Bureau's supervisory examinations in 2020. The CFPB identified four findings from the report as "particularly concerning":
- Consumer Reporting Companies' Use of Data From
"Unreliable" Furnishers: The CFPB
reported that its examiners found that consumer reporting
companies have accepted and reported consumer data received
from third-party furnishers, while ignoring signs that the data
furnishers were unreliable. The CFPB warned that it "will
remain diligent and consumer reporting companies are on notice with
respect to risks posed by accepting data from furnishers where
there are indications of unreliability."
- Redlining: The report states
that CFPB examiners found evidence of
redlining, including direct mail marketing
materials showcasing pictures of only white people
and locating credit loan offices "almost
exclusively" in majority-white neighborhoods. CFPB
examiners found that these actions "lowered the
number of applications from minority neighborhoods relative to
other comparable lenders."
- Regulation X Foreclosure Issues: The
report states CFPB examinations identified "several
violations" by mortgage servicers of
the servicing rules in Regulation X, including filing for a
foreclosure before evaluating borrower's appeals or initiating
a foreclosure prior to the date that they told consumers they
would. On June 28, 2021, the CFPB issued a final
rule that it contends will help consumers avoid
foreclosures as the emergency federal foreclosure
protections expire.
- Student Loan Servicing for the PSLF Program: CFPB examiners found violations in the type of information that student loan servicers gave consumers about the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program. Examiners found that student loan servicers were giving consumers incorrect information that could potentially bar access to the program and could result in thousands of dollars lost for these consumers.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
