Compliance Blog

Written by Eliott C. Ponte, Regulatory Law Clerk

CFPB Consumer Response Annual Report

The CFPB recently released its Consumer Response Annual Report.  The report can be found here, which is a summary and highlight of their Consumer Complaint Database for 2013.

The CFPB began to accept complaints on July 21, 2011.  As of March 1st, the CFPB has handled approximately 309, 700 consumer complaints.  Since its inception, consumer complaint volume has steadily increased from about 91,000 complaints in 2013 to 164,000 complaints in 2013. Approximately 54% of all consumer complaints were submitted through the CFPB’s website and 11% via telephone calls. Referrals accounted for 24% of all complaints received. The rest were submitted by mail, email, and fax.  Of the 164,000 complaints, 37% were related to mortgages, 19% were related to debt collection, and 15% were related to credit reporting.

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Forum on Mortgage Closing Process

On Wednesday, the CFPB announced it would host a forum on mortgage closing process in Washington D.C. on Wednesday, April 23 at 1:30 P.M.  The forum will take place at CFPB HQ.  To RSVP, email cfpb.events@cfpb.gov with your full name and organizational affiliation.  People unable to make the trip to Washington can watch a livestream through the CFPB’s blog. 

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The Blood Moon Is Upon Us, Will The CFPB Issue Payday Lending Rules?

Seriously, stargazers and lunar fans will witness the first of four blood moons during the evening hours of April 14^th and 15^th.  While this has little to do with the CFPB issuing regulations, I suspect that the CFPB will make an announcement regarding payday lending in the near future.  The CFPB has not officially said that it is working on payday rules, but Director Richard Cordray came close to acknowledging rules were in the works in his remarks that accompanied a report on payday loans on March 25^th of this year. 

“As we look ahead to our next steps, I will frankly say that we are now in the late stages of our considerations about how we can formulate new rules to bring needed reforms to this market. We continue to grapple with all aspects of these issues. We have always acknowledged that the American consumer has shown a clear and steady demand for small-dollar credit products, which can be helpful for the consumers who use them on an occasional basis and can manage to repay them without becoming mired in a prolonged and costly struggle. So we intend to make sure that consumers who can afford to take out small-dollar loans can get the credit they need without jeopardizing or undermining their financial futures. But we also need to recognize that loan products which routinely lead consumers into debt traps should have no place in their lives.”

Perhaps we will have to wait until the last blood moon before learning about the CFPB’s plans!