Credit products

As part of our , we monitor developments at the CFPB and work with its staff attorneys, providing advice regarding the laws that regulate the extension of credit to consumers. Much of our work concerns the increasing overlap between products and services offered by financial and nonfinancial institutions, and attempts by regulators and plaintiffs’ lawyers to bring them within the jurisdiction of consumer financial protection laws.

Mortgage banking

 provides a comprehensive range of corporate, regulatory, compliance and litigation services to traditional and online mortgage lending, servicing and settlement service clients. Our  teams perform reviews to ensure that companies are well-prepared for any  examination and help clients enhance their compliance programs to avoid enforcement scrutiny.

Payment cards

We provide advice regarding “prepaid access” products, mobile payments, alternative payment mechanisms (such as internet, carrier billing and peer-to-peer payments) and other new developments in this space.  negotiates contracts, including sponsorship and processing agreements among industry participants, and advises our clients on industry updates and trends.

Auto Finance

 have long represented the captive auto finance industry in a wide variety of matters, including the provision of compliance and regulatory advice, under both state and federal law, transition to electronic signatures, fair lending, debt collection, floor plan financing disputes, dealer sales out of trust (SOT), retail installment sales contract (RISC) litigation, and many other issues that auto finance companies face on a regular basis.

Advertising and marketing

Marketing and advertising for the financial industry's products and services are also facing closer scrutiny and tighter regulations.  regularly review the campaigns of some of the world's leading brands, including those of financial institutions. We keep track of what representations, omissions, acts or practices the CFPB or FTC may likely deem unfair, deceptive or abusive, including with respect to the marketing of products through social networking websites and mobile platforms.

Legislative support

Our relationships in the House of Representatives and the Senate enable us to advocate for legislative changes, work to block problematic bills and ask members of Congress to weigh in on matters affecting the industry.  can assist you in drafting comments to proposed rules, guidance and other agency proposals published by the CFPB and other agencies.

We also have relationships with state legislators and regulators through our government relations practices based in Sacramento, Los Angeles, Albany and Chicago.

Preparing for Examinations

We help clients prepare for examinations by their prudential regulators (such as the OCC, DBO, FDIC and CFPB). Supplementing our already robust compliance practice, our due diligence teams perform reviews to ensure that companies are well prepared for any examination and assist clients in enhancing their compliance programs to avoid enforcement scrutiny. We also assist clients in responding to and implementing regulatory changes, and vetting new products and services.

Defending against enforcement actions and litigation

We regularly defend clients in investigations and enforcement actions pursued or brought by federal banking agencies, the CFPB, the FTC and state attorneys general. The  is a core practice focus. The CFPB’s approach, often regulating through enforcement rather than formal regulation, presents great uncertainty to those entities providing consumer-facing financial products and services, including through the CFPB’s unusual power to declare otherwise legal practices unfair, deceptive or abusive (UDAAP). We respond to civil investigative demands (CIDs), notice and opportunity to respond and advise (NORA) letters, and Potential Action and Request for Response (PARR) letters.

Defense of consumer litigation

We defend , leveraging the knowledge of our consumer compliance lawyers to develop an effective response and litigation strategy. Our lawyers have successfully defended individual and putative class actions arising under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA), the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), the Fair Housing Act (FHA), the Truth in Lending Act (TILA), the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA), and the , state motor vehicle retail installment sales laws, and state unfair and deceptive practices (UDAP) statutes.

Who we work with

We represent banks, mortgage lenders, auto finance companies, short-term lenders, fintech platforms, consumer finance companies (including retailers and service providers), financial intermediaries and service providers, and insurance companies.

A rapidly expanding part of our practice is advising emerging companies in the fintech space, including online lenders and mobile payment companies, regarding the application of legacy laws to their disruptive technologies.