The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is issuing this advisory opinion to remind debt collectors of their obligation to comply with the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) and Regulation F’s prohibitions on false, deceptive, or misleading representations or means in connection with the collection of any medical debt and unfair or unconscionable means to collect or attempt to collect any medical debts.
Federal Agency Interpretation
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) is issuing this advisory opinion to address certain obligations that consumer reporting agencies have under section 609(a) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). This advisory opinion underscores that, to trigger a consumer reporting agency’s file disclosure requirement under FCRA section 609(a), a consumer does not need to use specific language, such as ‘‘complete file’’ or ‘‘file.’’ This advisory opinion also highlights the requirements regarding the information that must be disclosed to a consumer under FCRA section 609(a).
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is issuing this advisory opinion to rescind an advisory opinion it issued in November 2020 that described how one particular type of ‘‘earned wage’’ product does not involve the offering or extension of ‘‘credit’’ as that term is defined in the Truth in Lending Act and Regulation Z.
The Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (Bureau) is adopting a final rule that codifies the Interagency Statement Clarifying the Role of Supervisory Guidance, issued by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board), Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), National Credit Union Administration (NCUA), and the Bureau (collectively, the agencies) on September 11, 2018 (2018 Statement).
The Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (Bureau) is issuing this interpretive rule to clarify that the Bureau’s Ability-to-Repay Rule incorporates the existing definition of “assumption” under Regulation Z.
The Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (Bureau) is issuing this interpretive rule to clarify that, with respect to any aspect of a credit transaction, the prohibition against sex discrimination in the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) and Regulation B, which implements ECOA, encompasses sexual orientation discrimination and gender identity discrimination, including discrimination based on actual or perceived nonconformity with sex-based or gender-based stereotypes and discrimination based on an applicant’s associations.
The Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (Bureau) has statutory authority to conduct examinations, at those institutions that it supervises, regarding the risks to active-duty servicemembers and their covered dependents that are presented by conduct that violates the Military Lending Act. This interpretive rule explains the basis for that authority.
Section 1042 of the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 (CFPA) generally authorizes States to enforce the CFPA’s provisions. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (Bureau) is issuing this interpretive rule to provide further clarity regarding the scope of State enforcement under section 1042 and related provisions of the CFPA.
States play an important role in the regulation of consumer reporting. State laws that are not ‘‘inconsistent’’ with the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) are generally not preempted by that statute. The FCRA also expressly preempts certain categories of State laws. This interpretive rule clarifies that FCRA’s express preemption provisions have a narrow and targeted scope. States therefore retain substantial flexibility to pass laws involving consumer reporting to reflect emerging problems affecting their local economies and citizens.
Section 1002 of the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 (CFPA) defines the term ‘‘service provider’’ and sets forth two exceptions to that definition. Under one of those exceptions, a person is not a service provider solely by virtue of such person offering or providing to a covered person time or space for an advertisement for a consumer financial product or service through print, newspaper, or electronic media.