Banks and credit unions may now rely on third parties to provide a consumer’s Social Security or Taxpayer Identification Number, according to an order issued by the FDIC, OCC and the NCUA with the consent of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN).
In one of its final decisions in 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court curtailed the authority of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in interpreting the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), signaling a broader recalibration of agency deference in federal courts. Most notably, in McLaughlin v. McKesson, the Court held that district courts are not bound to follow FCC interpretations of the TCPA when adjudicating enforcement actions. This ruling effectively overturns prior assumptions that administrative orders—such as the FCC's "Amerifactors" order declaring online fax services exempt from the TCPA—must be followed without question. The Court emphasized that judges have an independent obligation to interpret statutes, and FCC rulings are to be given persuasive, but not binding, weight.
If you’ve worked in collections for any length of time, you know this: nothing stays the same for long. Cloud infrastructure and collection systems evolve. Cybersecurity threats shift constantly. Regulations update, new oversight rolls in, and client expectations climb higher every year. And consumer behavior? Always adapting—faster than ever.
Today, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) published a policy statement in the Federal Register outlining its approach to addressing criminally liable regulatory offenses. This publication comes in response to Executive Order 14294, issued by President Trump on May 9, 2025, which aims to combat overcriminalization in federal regulations.
May ’25 Mostly Up Again
After an across the board decline in April, most of May’s numbers are back up. Only TCPA (-15.3%) suits fell last month while FDCPA (+15.5%) and FCRA (+10.1%) suits were up.
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