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The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is proposing a rule to implement personal financial data rights under the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 (CFPA). The proposed rule would require depository and nondepository entities to make available to consumers and authorized third parties certain data relating to consumers' transactions and accounts; establish obligations for third parties accessing a consumer's data, including important privacy protections for that data; provide basic standards for data access; and promote fair, open, and inclusive industry standards.

On October 19, the Fed and NYDFS announced an enforcement action against a New York-based bank for alleged violations of consumer identification rules and deficient third-party risk management practices.

September saw the consumer complaint pendulum keep on swinging. After August’s big month for lawsuits, most were back down in the month-over-month comparisons. FCRA suits were the exception – while FCRA had been the one consistent growth area in consumer litigation over the last couple of years, they’ve tended to swing with the same volatility as the other statutes in recent months. In September, FCRA was once again the one growth area on our chart with a +6.5% increase over August, while FDCPA (-4.8%) and TCPA (-1.9%) were both down.

SACRAMENTO – In a continuation of a yearlong crackdown on unscrupulous debt collectors, the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) announced today that it has issued enforcement actions against four entities for unlicensed debt collection activity under the Debt Collection Licensing Act (DCLA) and unfair, deceptive, or abusive acts or practices (UDAAP) in violation of the California Consumer Financial Protection Law (CCFPL) and related federal laws and regulations.

As a result of a Federal Trade Commission lawsuit, Jonathan Braun, who controlled small-business funding company RCG Advances, will face a permanent ban from the merchant cash advance and debt collection industries. A federal court issued summary judgment in favor of the FTC in the case along with a permanent injunctionagainst Braun.