BankruptcyandRestructuringBlog

The United States Supreme Court ruled yesterday in Collins v. Yellin that a restriction on the President’s power to remove the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency at will is unconstitutional as a violation of the separation of powers doctrine. This decision did not come as a surprise, as the Court had ruled in Seila Law LLC v. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau that a similar restriction on the President’s power to remove the director of the CFPB at will was unconstitutional.

On June 17, 2021, President Biden signed Senate Bill 475 into law, making “Juneteenth” a federal holiday. Because June 19th (tomorrow) falls on a Saturday this year, the day will be observed by federal government offices on June 18, 2021 (today).

This new law, revising the list of federal holidays in the U.S. Code, will affect consumer credit lenders’ operations. It is important for lenders to review their processes to determine how this new holiday will impact their operations.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit recently held that a debt collector’s settlement offer must indicate whether interest and fees are continuing to accrue on the outstanding debt, or alternatively, whether payment of the settlement amount by a specified date will constitute full satisfaction of the debt.  The plaintiff allegedly incurred credit card debt that was placed with defendant debt collection company.

The CFPB recently released new FAQs regarding the Mortgage Servicing Rule and Regulation X and Regulation Z relating to escrow account guidance and analysis.

Putting it Into Practice:  Some key takeaways include the following:

On April 29, 2021 Governor Newsom signed California A.B. 80, largely conforming to Federal rules relating to deductibility of expenses paid with funds from forgiven Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans.  The $150,000 limitation in prior versions of A.B.