Lots of people and companies buy old debt—for example, hedge funds, private equity firms, and even some commercial bank affiliates. Typically, this is debt that the original creditor has charged off and sold for a fraction of the legal balance. In some cases, the debt has grown so old that a statute of limitations makes […]
The Supreme Court Will Answer Whether Collection of Time-Barred Debt in Bankruptcy Violates the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act
Fifth Circuit holds bank overtime claims should be arbitrated, providing guidance on employer-friendly delegation clauses.
Readers may be interested in my latest post on the Law in the Workplace Blog. It discusses a recent Fifth Circuit decision requiring that a bank employee arbitrate his class action Fair Labor Standards Act claim.
New York’s Proposed Banking Cybersecurity Regulation, And Why It’s Relevant To Community And Regional Banks Outside Of New York.
On September 13, 2016, New York’s Department of Financial Services announced a proposed new cybersecurity regulation covering banks, insurance companies, and other financial service providers. The regulation goes into effect on January 1, 2017. In sum, the proposed regulation requires covered entities to: establish a cybersecurity program; adopt a written cybersecurity policy addressing a range […]
Attempts To Collect Time-Barred Debt Provide Fertile Ground For FDCPA Violations In The Fifth Circuit
In Daugherty v. Convergent Outsourcing, Inc., the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals held that a collection letter that is silent as to litigation, but which offers to “settle” a time-barred debt without acknowledging that such debt is judicially unenforceable, can be sufficiently deceptive or misleading as to violate the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (“FDCPA”). […]
CFPB Finalizes Amendments to Mortgage Servicing Regulations
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) issued its final rule setting forth amendments and clarifications to mortgage servicing regulations on August 4, 2016. The final rule will implement new servicing regulations including the following: Additional foreclosure protection for borrowers. If a borrower becomes current on his or her payments after submitting a prior, complete loss […]
What Conduct By a Lender or Servicer Constitutes Waiver of Acceleration?
In Martin v. Federal National Mortgage Association, No. 15-41104 (5th Cir. Feb. 22, 2016), the Fifth Circuit issued its fourth opinion in recent months rejecting a borrower’s assertion that a mortgage servicer waived acceleration of a loan by engaging in conduct inconsistent with acceleration. The Court noted that Wells Fargo accepted payments only after the […]
Payment at Foreclosure Sale Must Be Made Immediately or Within Reasonable Time.
Jeff Heck (“Heck”) sued CitiMortgage, Inc. (“CitiMortgage”) over CitiMortgage’s failure to allow his purchase of real property at a non-judicial foreclosure sale after Heck successfully bid on the foreclosure property, was given 20 minutes to obtain a cashier’s check, did not return in the allotted time and the property was sold to another buyer. In […]
FDIC Encourages Banks to Step up Cyber Security
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) is the newest entity in a long line of governmental and corporate interests to voice concern over cybersecurity measures taken by banks and other financial institutions. The FDIC recently published its Supervisory Insights Vol. 12, Issue 2, Winter 2015 Article laying out a framework for enhancing cybersecurity for banks […]
Wyndham, Hyatt, and the FTC’s Top Ten List for Cybersecurity
In light of the recent data breach at Hyatt Hotels, which affected 250 hotels in 50 countries, we thought it timely to discuss the fallout from another hotel data breach: namely, the recent consent order entered in the FTC’s action against the Wyndham hotel chain.[1] This post discusses the Wyndham consent order and FTC guidance […]
GAO Reports Increasing Compliance Burdens on Community Banks
Last week, the Government Accountability Office released a report indicating that the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform has imposed increasing compliance burdens on community banks, credit unions, and industry associations. These typically smaller institutions have had to increase staff and dedicate more time and money to training in order to comply with the new rules. Some […]