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Since the start of the pandemic, the cost of automobiles has risen substantially. Over 100 million Americans have an auto loan, and the CFPB estimates that there is currently $1.5 trillion in outstanding auto loan debt, making it the third-largest consumer credit category after mortgages and student loans. At its current trajectory, auto loan balances will surpass outstanding student loans in the first half of 2023.

The Department of Justice, in close coordination with the Department of Education, announced today a new process for handling cases in which individuals seek to discharge their federal student loans in bankruptcy. The new process will help ensure consistent treatment of the discharge of federal student loans, reduce the burden on borrowers of pursuing such proceedings and make it easier to identify cases where discharge is appropriate. The Associate Attorney General distributed guidance outlining the new process to all U.S. Attorneys.

Thousands of student-loan borrowers will soon be getting long-awaited debt relief. On Wednesday, federal Judge William Alsup granted final approval of a lawsuit — Sweet v. Cardona — filed in 2019 by student-loan borrowers who accused the Education Department at the time of failing to process their borrower defense to repayment applications. These are forms borrowers can file if they believe they were defrauded by the school they attended. If the department approves their forms, they would qualify to have their student loans discharged.

The Federal Trade Commission is exploring changes to the Business Opportunity Rule, seeking comment from the public on the rule’s effectiveness and a potential expansion to the rule to cover other types of money-making opportunities, such as coaching or mentoring programs, e-commerce opportunities, or investment opportunities.

In the aftermath of the 2007-2008 financial crisis, Congress established the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to regulate consumer financial products and services and protect consumers from unfair, deceptive, or abusive acts or practices. One of the major ways we do this is through collecting, monitoring, and responding to consumer complaints.