Search Results for agency_names:"Consumer Financial Protection Bureau"

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has issued a final rule to adjust civil penalty amounts for inflation, fulfilling the requirements under the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act. These adjustments ensure that penalties continue to serve as a deterrent and encourage compliance with the law. The new penalty amounts will take effect on January 15, 2025, and apply to violations occurring after November 2, 2015. This rulemaking process does not require public notice or comment due to its technical nature and statutory obligations.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has finalized a rule that changes Regulation V of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) to protect medical information in credit decisions. Previously, there was an exception allowing creditors to use medical debt information when deciding if someone qualifies for credit. With this new rule, creditors cannot use this information unless specific exceptions apply, and consumer reporting agencies are limited in what medical debt information they can share with creditors. This change aims to safeguard consumers' privacy and ensure medical information isn't wrongly used. The rule will become effective on March 17, 2024.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has announced changes to its Regulation Z, affecting the criteria exempting certain creditors from the need to create escrow accounts for higher-priced mortgage loans. The asset-size threshold for this exemption is now set at $2.717 billion for regular creditors and $12.179 billion for certain smaller banks and credit unions. These adjustments, effective from January 1, 2025, are based on changes in the Consumer Price Index, and the rule aims to update the thresholds accordingly for institutions.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is planning to propose a new rule aimed at helping victims of coerced debt, which often occurs in abusive relationships. This advance notice is seeking public input on changing the definitions of "identity theft" and "identity theft report" under Regulation V of the Fair Credit Reporting Act to cover these situations. The CFPB highlights how economic abuse, including coerced debt, significantly harms victims, especially those in abusive relationships, and is asking for comments on various aspects of how best to offer protections. Comments are due by March 7, 2025, and can be submitted through email or the CFPB's website.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has amended Regulation Z, which implements the Truth in Lending Act, to introduce a new exemption so certain depository institutions and credit unions no longer need to create escrow accounts for higher-priced mortgage loans. To qualify for this exemption, institutions must have assets of $10 billion or less and fewer than 1,000 such loans from the previous year, and meet other criteria like operating in rural or underserved areas. The final rule, effective February 17, 2021, aims to reduce regulatory burdens on smaller institutions while maintaining consumer protection standards.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is seeking approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for a new information collection called "Survey Screening Questions." This collection aims to gather data from individuals to help the CFPB better understand financial issues faced by the American public and improve their services. The public is invited to submit comments by January 3, 2025, providing feedback on the necessity, utility, and clarity of the questionnaire as well as suggestions to reduce respondents' burden. The CFPB anticipates about 50,000 responses, accumulating a total annual burden of 12,500 hours.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is proposing a new interpretive rule to help companies and investors understand existing rules around electronic fund transfers (EFTs) as people use new ways to transfer money for personal purposes. This rule stems from growing interest in products like stablecoins and virtual currencies, which are gaining use in non-traditional payment systems. The goal is to ensure consumer rights and liabilities under the Electronic Fund Transfer Act (EFTA) are clear and consistently applied, preventing confusion and competitive disadvantages among service providers. They seek public feedback on this proposal by March 31, 2025.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has updated the asset-size exemption threshold for banks, savings associations, and credit unions under the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) to $58 million for 2025, based on an average 2.9% increase in the Consumer Price Index. This change means that institutions with assets of $58 million or less as of December 31, 2024, will not have to collect certain data in 2025. The amendment, which eliminates the need for public comment due to its technical and non-discretionary nature, will take effect on January 1, 2025.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has issued an advisory opinion that revokes a previous opinion from November 2020 regarding earned wage products. The 2020 opinion had stated that certain earned wage access programs did not qualify as "credit" under the Truth in Lending Act and Regulation Z, but the CFPB found this analysis flawed and contributing to confusion in the financial market. The Bureau concluded that the 2020 opinion failed to provide clarity, as few products actually met its criteria, leading to widespread misunderstanding about the classification of such products. The rescinded opinion was officially effective as of January 15, 2025.

The Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection released a public statement about the compliance dates for two mortgage rules: the General Qualified Mortgage (QM) Final Rule and the Seasoned QM Final Rule. Both rules regarding the definition of qualified mortgages took effect on March 1, 2021, but the mandatory compliance date for the General QM Final Rule is set for July 1, 2021. The Bureau is considering revisiting the Seasoned QM Final Rule and may delay the mandatory compliance date for the General QM Final Rule. They also intend to propose a rule that might allow lenders to use either the current or revised General QM loan definition until a new compliance date, with the Temporary GSE QM loan definition remaining effective until then.