Articles
Regulators Encourage Institutions to Work with Borrowers Affected by Government Shutdown
While the effects of the federal government shutdown on individuals should be temporary, affected borrowers may face a temporary hardship in making payments on debts such as mortgages, student loans, car loans, business loans, or credit cards. As they have in prior shutdowns, the agencies encourage financial institutions to consider prudent efforts to modify terms on existing loans or extend new credit to help affected borrowers.
One potential winner from the government shutdown — payday lenders
While the partial government shutdown is largely bad news for U.S. companies, payday lenders look set for a boost. “We’re now getting to the point where federal employees are going to need some kind of short-term loan in some cases,” said federal budget expert Stan Collender. In cases where these employees can’t turn to family or friends, companies that provide payday loans “are going to benefit a little bit, because there’s going to be a request for funds,” said Collender, known for his Budget Guy blog. About 800,000 federal employees are furloughed or working without wages thanks to the shutdown, now in its 21st day. They are missing out on paychecks for the first time on Friday, which otherwise generally would have been payday.
New Massachusetts law requires free ‘security freezes,’ monitoring after data breaches
Consumers will be able to receive free credit monitoring after a data breach and “security freezes” under a new law signed by Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker. The law, which takes effect in 90 days, also requires entities that hold consumer data and have been hit with a security breach to offer free credit monitoring in some situations. Identity thieves often seek to open credit accounts with information stolen through data breaches. A “freeze” of credit files is one safeguard available to consumers.
Should My Employees Receive Cybersecurity Training?
Cybersecurity training has quickly become extremely important for businesses. Employees don’t need to be cybersecurity experts, but they should be practicing healthy cyber habits. New-hire training and regularly scheduled refresher training courses should be established in order to instill the data security culture of your organization. As always, preparedness is the key to preventing most security breaches. It is always best to know how to avoid becoming a victim. Improper or lack of cybersecurity training can cause many problems for your business. We want you and your employees to be prepared so that you don’t become a statistic! What could happen if proper cybersecurity training isn’t implemented?
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Publishes Assessments of Ability-to-Repay and Mortgage Servicing Rules
Washington, D.C. — The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (Bureau) today published a report under section 1022(d) of the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank Act) assessing the effectiveness of the Bureau’s Ability to Repay and Qualified Mortgage Rule and a separate report assessing the effectiveness of the Bureau’s mortgage servicing rule issued under the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA).
Credit unions respond to CFPB reports on ATR/QM and RESPA Mortgage Servicing Rules
Washington, D.C. (January 10, 2019) – The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) today released assessment reports on its Ability-to-Repay and Qualified Mortgage (ATR/QM) rule and the mortgage servicing rule issued under the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA). Credit Union National Association (CUNA) continues to seek additional guidance and rule amendments in these areas on behalf of credit unions in need of regulatory relief. The trade association plans to provide substantive feedback on necessary modifications to the ATR/QM and RESPA servicing rule.
Consumer credit has second straight big jump in November
The numbers: Consumer borrowing stayed strong for the second straight month in November, according to the Federal Reserve on Tuesday. Total consumer credit increased $22.1 billion in November to a seasonally adjusted $3.98 trillion. That’s down only slightly from a $25 billion gain in October, which was the fastest pace in 11 months. Economists had been expecting a $19 billion gain in credit, according to Econoday.