FCRA

On April 1, 2020, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) released a statement on “Supervisory and Enforcement Practices Regarding the Fair Credit Reporting Act and Regulation V in Light of the CARES Act.” This statement provides guidance outlining the CFPB’s expectations of furnishers and consumer reporting agencies (“CRAs”) during the COVID-19 pandemic, and signals that the CFPB will take a flexible supervisory and enforcement approach to compliance with the Fair Credit Reporting Act (“FCRA”) and its implementing regulation, Regulation V.

The key points of the CFPB’s guidance are discussed below.
Continue Reading CFPB Releases Guidance on FCRA and Regulation V Compliance During COVID-19

On July 11, the House Financial Services Committee held a markup for a series of bills designed to reform the credit reporting system and the Fair Credit Reporting Act (“FCRA”).  Each bill passed on a party-line vote.  The associated hearing was titled “Who’s Keeping Score? Holding Credit Bureaus Accountable and Repairing a Broken System.”

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On January 9, 2019, a divided three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit held that the Federal National Mortgage Association, or Fannie Mae, is not a “consumer reporting agency” within the meaning of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (the “FCRA”). The case, Zabriskie v. Federal National Mortgage Association, was brought by prospective borrowers who were unable to refinance their current mortgage loans due to allegedly erroneous information in their credit histories, as reported by Fannie Mae software that is commonly used by mortgage lenders.
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Continue Reading Fannie Mae is Not a Consumer Reporting Agency Under the FCRA, Ninth Circuit Says

On July 16, 2018, Republican and Democratic leadership of the House Financial Services Committee announced that they have reached agreement to advance a package of financial services reforms known as the “JOBS Act 3.0,” consisting of 32 pieces of legislation that have passed the Committee or the full House with bipartisan support.

While much of the package is focused on capital markets regulation, several of the component bills relate to prudential or consumer financial services matters.…

Continue Reading House Committee Agrees on JOBS Act 3.0

On January 5, 2017, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (the “CFPB”) issued a civil investigative demand (“CID”) to The Source for Public Data, L.P. (“Public Data”), a company that collects personal information about consumers. The CID requested information to determine whether consumer reporting agencies, persons using consumer reports, or other persons have engaged or are engaging in unlawful acts and practices in connection with the provision or use of public records information in violation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act. The CID implied that Public Data is a consumer reporting agency, a characterization Public Data has rejected.
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Continue Reading Texas District Court Rules that Notification of Purpose in CFPB CID Provides Fair Notice