On October 7, 2024, the CFPB published a new edition of Supervisory Highlights describing the agency’s supervisory findings related to illegal practices in auto finance, including lenders repossessing consumers’ cars after the borrower made timely payments or received loan extensions. The report also highlights significant problems with add-on products that are packaged at the front-end of the auto loan, increasing the loan costs, and then not properly refunded at the back end upon early loan termination, when the consumer can no longer use the products.

On October 4, 2024, the CFPB published three threshold changes. Two of the threshold changes relate to Regulation Z while one change relates to consumer leasing under Regulation M.  The changes were based on the 3.4 percent increase in CPI-W as of June 1, 2024.

On October 3, 2024, the OCC issued a bulletin to provide banks with guidance for managing credit risk associated with refinance risk. The bulletin applies to all banks with commercial loans and does not address other risks, such as interest rate risk.

On October 1, 2024, the OCC released its bank supervision operating plan for fiscal year 2025, which begins on October 1, 2024, and ends on September 30, 2025. The plan provides the foundation for policy initiatives and for supervisory strategies as applied to individual national banks, federal savings associations, federal branches, federal agencies, and technology service providers. The OCC staff will use this plan to guide their supervisory priorities, planning, and resource allocations.

On October 1, 2024, the CFPB issued guidance to prevent families from being targeted by illegal medical debt collection tactics. The advisory opinion clarifies that debt collectors, which may include third-party “revenue cycle management” companies, are violating federal law when they collect on inaccurate or legally invalid medical debts.

On September 24, 2024, the CFPB issued the Office of Servicemember Affairs’ annual report for 2023 which covers the top financial concerns facing servicemembers, veterans, and military families, based on the complaints they submitted to the CFPB. The reports also identify emerging risks in consumer finance and provide an update on the CFPB’s efforts toward continuing to protect the military community from harmful financial products and practices.