Ballard Spahr
Industries

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s creation placed many banks and nonbank financial services companies under broad federal supervision for the first time. Our nationally recognized practice helps an array of institutions—including mortgage servicers and originators, credit bureaus, debt collection agencies, debt buyers, payday lenders, private student lenders, and auto finance companies—confront regulatory, supervisory, and enforcement issues arising from this powerful new federal agency’s prolific activity.

Our Consumer Financial Services Team comprises regulatory lawyers and litigators who work together to assist clients in handling CFPB matters and scrutiny, including facilitating engagement with the CFPB to discuss rulemaking, preparing clients for CFPB exams, helping clients respond to CFPB civil investigative demands, and litigation when appropriate. Attorneys in our CFPB practice have decades of experience representing consumer financial services providers in dealing with government regulators.

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Experience 

  • We represent more than 30 clients in industries as diverse as auto lending, credit card add-on products, student lending, and debt collection, in preparing responses to civil investigative demands (CIDs), the CFPB's primary enforcement investigation mechanism.
  • We represent clients throughout the pre-enforcement process when they receive comment letters, Proposed Action and Request for Response (PARR) letters and Notice and Opportunity to Respond and Advise (NORA) letters.
  • We were engaged by the American Bankers Association, the Consumer Bankers Association, and the Financial Services Roundtable to provide comments in response to the CFPB's request for information regarding the scope, methods, and data sources of the study on pre-dispute arbitration agreements mandated by Section 1028 of the Dodd-Frank Act.
  • The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) called on us to analyze the CFPB's proposed rule that will implement the “ability to repay” provisions of the Truth in Lending Act that were added by the Dodd-Frank Act. We addressed litigation costs, the relative merits of safe harbors and rebuttable presumptions, and related issues. Our memorandum was included in the MBA's comments on the rule.
  • We are represent the defendant in CFPB v. Frederick J. Hanna & Associates, P.C., et al., the Bureau's first lawsuit against a debt collection law firm and one of a tiny number of cases where the respondent is actually litigating against the CFPB. This case is being closely followed by attorneys throughout the country since it will determine the extent to which the CFPB has jurisdiction over the legal profession.

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