On January 19, 2023, the CFPB issued a new circular affirming that companies offering “negative option” subscription services must comply with federal consumer financial protection law. Negative option programs include subscription services that automatically renew unless the consumer affirmatively cancels, and trial marketing programs that charge a reduced fee for an initial period and then automatically begin charging a higher fee. The circular highlights examples of unlawful behavior by companies that have used dark patterns and other manipulative tactics to trick consumers into paying recurring charges for products and services they do not want.

On January 17, 2023,  FinCEN issued a request for comments on the application that will be used to collect information from individuals who seek to obtain a FinCEN identifier, consistent with the Beneficial Ownership Information Reporting Requirements final rule that was published on September 30, 2022. Individuals who seek to obtain a FinCEN identifier must submit an application and update the information provided on the application as necessary. 

On January 17, 2023, Acting Comptroller of the Currency Michael J. Hsu spoke at the Brookings Institution. In his speech, Hsu talked about the limits of large bank manageability, or what some call the too-big-to-manage (TBTM) problem. Hsu stressed the contribution of large banks to the economy and how, as they are becoming bigger and more complex, managing large banks is becoming more challenging.

On January 12, 2023, the HUD announced that the Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) has ordered three Plano, Texas landlords to pay damages, civil penalties, and attorney’s fees totaling $140,649 for violating the Fair Housing Act. The ALJ found that agent Quang Dangtran and property owners Ha Nguyen and HQD Enterprise, LLC refused to rent to a Black woman because of race, made discriminatory statements, placed discriminatory advertisements on Craigslist, and retaliated against the woman because she filed a complaint with HUD.

On January 18, 2023,  issued updates to the Mortgage Servicing Examination Procedures. The Examination Procedures describe the types of information that CFPB examiners gather to evaluate mortgage servicers’ policies and procedures; assess whether servicers are complying with applicable laws; and identify risks to consumers related to mortgage servicing. The updates to the procedures aim to provide transparency to stakeholders about how CFPB does its work.

On January 17, 2023, the Federal Reserve Board provided additional details on how its pilot climate scenario analysis exercise will be conducted and the information on risk management practices that will be gathered over the course of the exercise. In a previous blog, we wrote about the Board announcing that it will conduct a pilot climate scenario analysis exercise designed to enhance the ability of supervisors and firms to measure and manage climate-related financial risks.

On January 13, 2023, the FTC announced that investment advice company WealthPress has agreed to a proposed court order that would require it to refund more than $1.2 million to consumers and pay a $500,000 civil penalty for deceiving consumers with outlandish and false claims about their services. This case mark’s the first time that FTC has collected civil penalties against a company that received the Notice of Penalty Offenses regarding money-making opportunities and the first civil penalties for violations of the Restore Online Shoppers’ Confidence Act. (ROSCA).