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New CFPB Acting Director Mulvaney Moves Quickly to Intervene in Legal Case

Thursday Dec 7, 2017 ... By Thomas Ressler ... [e-mail]



Under new management, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau this week took action that may be a harbinger of a more laissez-faire approach to regulatory enforcement.

In the spring of 2015, the bureau sued Ohio-based Nationwide Biweekly Administration and Loan Payment Administration in federal district court, accusing them of misrepresenting the interest savings consumers would achieve through a biweekly mortgage payment program. The defendants collected roughly $49 million in setup fees between 2011 and 2014, according to the bureau’s account.

This past September, the CFPB got a split verdict in a ruling from the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in the case. The agency won a $7.9 million civil penalty from the defendants, but lost on $74 million in sought-after restitution. Claiming financial distress, the defendants asked the court to hold off on collecting the civil penalty.

On Nov. 27, the day Mick Mulvaney assumed control of the bureau, the agency filed a brief insisting that the defendants be required to post a bond if the penalty is delayed. Two days later – reportedly after Mulvaney was informed about the brief by an attorney representing the defendants – the CFPB reversed course.