CFPB Boss Racks Up Enforcements as Second Year Begins

The head of the country’s consumer financial enforcement agency is closing out its first year at the helm showing banks, FinTechs, lenders, mortgage brokers and debt collectors the world according to Rohit Chopra.

Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) since Sept. 30, 2021, Chopra has handed down 15 enforcement actions since the start of this year and 19 since he was appointed, according to the agency’s website.

Chopra already had a reputation as an aggressive enforcer from his time at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and an earlier role at the CFPB. Part of his aim at the CFPB is to make the agency more consumer-friendly and less so toward financial firms.

See also: CFPB Sues MoneyLion Over Alleged Military Lending Act Violation

Of Chopra’s 15 enforcement actions this year, the most recent is against online lender MoneyLion over its alleged violation of the Military Lending Act, PYMNTS reported on Thursday (Sept. 29).

The CFPB sued MoneyLion and 38 of its subsidiaries for reportedly hitting service members and dependents with illegal charges of more than the 36% rate cap on loans. MoneyLion also allegedly made customers join a membership program to access various “low-APR” loans, not letting them cancel their memberships until the loans were paid, PYMNTS reported.

Read more: Regions Bank Must Refund $141M, Pay $50M CFPB Fine for Overdraft Fees

The CFPB this month also ordered Regions Bank to pay at least $141 million in refunds to consumers, plus a $50 million penalty, due to surprise overdraft fees. The agency said the bank knew about the surprise overdraft fees on certain ATM withdrawals and debit card purchases and declined to take action.

In August, the watchdog ordered Hello Digit to pay damages plus a $2.7 million fine for charging overdraft fees for a savings product that falsely guaranteed no overdrafts, PYMNTS reported in August.

Related: Hello Digit Hit By $2.7M CFPB Fine Over Fees Connected to Automated Savings

In July, the CFPB handed down the most enforcement actions since Chopra took the helm. Bank of America was issued an order for the handling of its prepaid cards for unemployment insurance, Hyundai Capital for credit reporting failures, Trident Mortgage for intentional discrimination, ACE Cash Express for concealing free repayment plans from borrowers, and U.S. Bank National Association for illegally accessing customers’ credit reports to open fake accounts.

The watchdog also issued one enforcement action in June, two enforcement actions in May, two in April, and one in March.