Search for CFPB Director Continues
In recent blog entries we have discussed the role being played by Elizabeth Warren in standing up the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, including efforts to identify a Director for the newly-formed Bureau. Those efforts have continued recently as Ms. Warren has been meeting with various State Attorneys General about the Bureau. Businessweek reported last week that Ms. Warren has met with attorneys general Tom Miller of Iowa, Lisa Madigan of Illinois, Roy Cooper of North Carolina and Martha Coakley of Massachusetts. While the article states that the implication is that the purpose of the meeting was to discuss the Director position with these individuals, the article also notes that the White House has stated it is not close to announcing a nominee.
UPDATE: New Gift Card Rules To Take Effect on August 22, 2010 and Disclosure Requirements Will Now Take Effect on January 31, 2011
This is an update to an earlier post regarding the Federal Reserve Board’s final rules implementing the gift card provisions of the Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009 (“CARD Act”). On July 27, 2010, H.R. 5502 was signed into law, extending the effective date of disclosure requirements under the CARD Act from August 22, 2010 to January 31, 2011, for qualifying gift cards produced prior to April 1, 2010. You may recall that the rules restrict fees and expiration dates on various types of gift certificates and cards, and require sellers and issuers to make specific disclosures.
Gift Certificates, Store Gift Cards, and General-Use Prepaid Cards
Generally, the rules restrict fees, expiration dates, and impose certain disclosure requirements for (A) gift certificates, (B) store gift cards, and (C) general-use prepaid cards, as these terms (collectively, “gift cards”) are defined in the CARD Act.
Definitions
(A) Gift Certificates – are defined in the CARD Act as a card, code, or other device that is: (i) redeemable at a single merchant or an affiliated group of merchants that share the same name, mark, or logo; (ii) issued in a specified amount that may not be increased or reloaded; (iii) purchased on a prepaid basis in exchange for payment; and (iv) honored upon presentation by such single merchant or affiliated group of merchants for goods or services.
(B) Store Gift Cards – these types of cards are commonly known as “closed-loop cards”, and are essentially the same as Gift Certificates, but are reloadable or may be increased in value. The CARD Act specifically defines these cards as electronic promises, plastic cards, or other payment codes or devices that are: (i) redeemable at a single merchant or an affiliated group of merchants that share the same name, mark, or logo; (ii) issued in a specified amount, whether or not that amount may be increased in value or reloaded at the request of the holder; (iii) purchased on a prepaid basis in exchange for payment; and (iv) honored upon presentation by such single merchant or affiliated group of merchants for goods or services.
(C) General-Use Prepaid Cards – commonly referred to as “open-loop cards”, are defined in the CARD Act as cards or other payment codes or devices issued by any person that are: (i) redeemable at multiple, unaffiliated merchants or service providers, or automated teller machines; (ii) issued in a requested amount, whether or not that amount may, at the option of the issuer, be increased in value or reloaded if requested by the holder; (iii) purchased or loaded on a prepaid basis; and (iv) honored, upon presentation, by merchants for goods or services or at automated teller machines.
The Second Circuit Continues Judicial Trend Towards Limiting Arbitrations
Recent posts on this blog have discussed questions as to the continued viability of arbitration clauses that require consumer agreements to contain an arbitration clause and a waiver of the customer’s right to bring a class action. Indeed, the United States Supreme Court is to decide in the upcoming term whether agreements barring class-wide arbitration
Financial Reform Debate Far From Over
President Obama will soon sign the final Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, which the Senate passed last week. However, in many ways, the battle over financial reform has just begun. While the law makes broad and comprehensive changes to the nation’s financial system regulatory structure, many more details will be added in
Financial Reform Negotiations Conclude
After working through the night, the Congressional conference committee tasked with negotiating a final financial reform bill voted 27-16 to approve the bill and send it back to each chamber for a final vote on the conference report.
Recaps of the long day and night of negotiations and the final bill are available from Poltico
Congress Moves Closer to Final Financial Reform Bill
A conference committee comprised of members from both chambers of Congress has been meeting for the past two weeks to address differences between the House and Senate versions of financial reform legislation, with the Senate bill serving as the base text. Negotiators are trying to wrap up deliberations today in hopes of passing a final
Minnesota Enacts Mortgage Licensing Law
On May 15, 2010, the Governor of Minnesota signed into law the Minnesota S.A.F.E. Mortgage Licensing Act of 2010 (Minnesota S.A.F.E. Act), which requires that mortgage loan originators be licensed by July 31, 2010, the act’s effective date. In passing the law, Minnesota joins the other 49 states and the District of Columbia in enacting legislation
Will Congress Kill Mandatory Arbitration In Consumer Finance Transactions?
In 2007, Congress introduced legislation, entitled the Arbitration Fairness Act of 2007, to amend the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”) to render unenforceable predispute arbitration provisions in, among other things, agreements concerning consumer transactions. The legislation permitted parties to consumer transactions to agree to arbitrate disputes but only after the dispute arose and required courts
New FACTA Rules Take Effect on July 1, 2010
Businesses have until July 1, 2010 to comply with the new rules and guidelines under the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (“FACTA”), which amended the Fair Credit Reporting Act (“FCRA”), adopted by the Federal Trade Commission nearly a year ago relating to information provided to credit reporting agencies. Many know FACTA as the statute