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Title II — Consumer financial protection amendments

S. 4991 · 116th Congress · Dec 9, 2020 · Lineage

II Consumer financial protection amendments

Sec. 201 Amendments to the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010

(a)
Consumer bankruptcy ombuds— The Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 (12 U.S.C. 5481 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 1035 (12 U.S.C. 5535) the following:

“1035A. Consumer bankruptcy ombuds

“(a) Establishment—The Director, in consultation with the Attorney General, shall designate a Consumer Bankruptcy Ombuds (in this section referred to as the “Ombuds”) within the Bureau, to provide timely assistance to individual debtors in bankruptcy.

“(b) Public information—The Director and the Attorney General and the bankruptcy clerks appointed under section 156(b) of title 11, United States Code, shall disseminate information about the availability and functions of the Ombuds to individual debtors in bankruptcy and consumer bankruptcy attorneys and consumer credit counseling agencies.

“(c) Functions of ombuds—The Ombuds designated under this subsection shall—

“(1) in accordance with regulations of the Director, receive, review, and attempt to resolve informally complaints from individual debtors in bankruptcy, including, as appropriate, attempts to resolve such complaints in collaboration with creditors, the United States Trustee Program of the Department of Justice, trustees in bankruptcy, the bankruptcy clerks appointed under section 156(b) of title 11, United States Code, and consumer privacy ombudsmen and future claims representatives appointed in bankruptcy;

“(2) not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this section, establish a memorandum of understanding with the Executive Office of the United States Trustee Program, to ensure coordination in providing assistance to and serving individual debtors in bankruptcy seeking to resolve complaints related to their bankruptcy cases;

“(3) compile and analyze data on consumer bankruptcy filings, including on the causes of individual bankruptcy filings, the relationship between consumer bankruptcy filings and consumer financial products and services, and any disparities in the bankruptcy system, including any disparities based on the demographic categories described in section 159(a)(1) of title 28, United States Code;

“(4) compile and analyze data on complaints from individual debtors in bankruptcy;

“(5) make recommendations to the Director and the Attorney General regarding the filing of amicus curiae briefs and making appearances in individual bankruptcy cases, particularly in the cases involving repeat patterns of creditor behavior;

“(6) consult with the Director of the Administrative Office of the United States Courts regarding the duties of that officer under section 159 of title 28, United States Code, regarding data collection and reporting; and

“(7) make other appropriate recommendations to the Director, the Attorney General, the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs and the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate and the Committee on Financial Services and the Committee on Judiciary of the House of Representatives.

“(d) Annual reports

“(1) In general—The Ombuds shall prepare an annual report that describes the activities, and evaluates the effectiveness of the Ombuds during the preceding year.

“(2) Submission—The report required by paragraph (1) shall be submitted on the same date annually to the Attorney General, the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs and the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate and the Committee on Financial Services and the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives.”

(b)
Supervision of higher cost lenders— Section 1024(a)(1)(E) of the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 (12 U.S.C. 5514(a)(1)(E)) is amended by striking “a payday loan” and inserting “a loan with an annual percentage rate of greater than 36 percent, as determined under section 987(i)(4) of title 10, United States Code”.
(c)
Violations of discharge injunction— Section 1036(a) of the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 (12 U.S.C. 5536(a)), is amended—
(1)
in paragraph (2)(C), by striking “or” at the end;
(2)
in paragraph (3), by striking the period at the end and inserting “; or”; and
(3)
by adding at the end the following:

“(4) to violate section 524(a) of title 11, United States Code, in a case involving an individual debtor.”

(d)
Authority To exercise supervision and enforcement authority regarding bankruptcy law—
(1)
Definitions— Section 1002(12) of the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 (12 U.S.C. 5481(12)) is amended—
(A)
in subparagraph (Q), by striking “and” and the end;
(B)
in subparagraph (R), by striking the period at the end and inserting a semicolon; and
(C)
by adding at the end the following:

“(S) title 11, United States Code, with respect to individual debtors.”

(2)
Exception from rulemaking— Section 1022 of the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 (12 U.S.C. 5512) is amended by inserting “, except title 11, United States Code,” after “Federal consumer financial laws” each place the term appears.
(e)
Average prime offer rate for motor vehicle financings—
(1)
In general— Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, and not less frequently than monthly thereafter, the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection shall publish on the website of the Bureau the following information with respect to motor vehicle financing:
(A)
The current (as of the date of publication) average prime offer rate for that type of financing, including the provision of that financing through retail installment sales contracts.
(B)
The most common duration of that type of financing.
(C)
Rate structures for financings for the purchase of new and used light motor vehicles that are used primarily for personal, family, or household use.
(2)
Data collection— In carrying out paragraph (1), the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection may engage in the collection of information without regard to chapter 35 of title 44, United States Code.

Sec. 202 Amendments to the Truth in Lending Act

Section 130 of the Truth in Lending Act (15 U.S.C. 1640) is amended—
(1)
in subsection (a)(2)—
(A)
in subparagraph (A)—
(i)
by striking “$200” and inserting “$1,600”;
(ii)
by striking “$2,000” and inserting “$16,000”;
(iii)
by striking “$500” and inserting “$4,000”;
(iv)
by striking “$5,000” and inserting “$40,000”;
(v)
by striking “$400” and inserting “$3,200”; and
(vi)
by striking “$4,000” and inserting “$32,000”; and
(B)
in subparagraph (B), by striking “$1,000,000 or 1” and inserting “$8,000,000 or 5”; and
(2)
by adding at the end the following:

“(m) Adjustments—On April 1, 2022, and each April 1 thereafter, each dollar amount in effect under subsections (a) and (b) on the day before such April 1 shall be adjusted—

“(1) to reflect the change in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers, published by the Department of Labor, for the most recent period ending immediately before January 1 preceding such April 1; and

“(2) to round to the nearest $25 the dollar amount that represents the change described in paragraph (1).”

Sec. 203 Amendments to the Fair Credit Reporting Act

The Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.) is amended—
(1)
in section 605(a) (15 U.S.C. 1681c(a)), by striking paragraph (1) and inserting the following:

“(1) Cases under title 11, United States Code, that, from the date of entry of the order for relief, antedate the report by more than 7 years.”

(2)
in section 616 (15 U.S.C. 1681n)—
(A)
in subsection (a)(1)—
(i)
in subparagraph (A)—
(I)
by striking “$100” and inserting “$700”; and
(II)
by striking “$1,000” and inserting “$7,000”; and
(ii)
in subparagraph (B), by striking “$1,000” and inserting “$7,000”;
(B)
in subsection (b), by striking “$1,000” and inserting “$7,000”; and
(C)
by adding at the end the following:

“(e) Adjustment—On April 1, 2022, and each April 1 thereafter, each dollar amount in effect under subsections (a) and (b) on the day before such April 1 shall be adjusted—

“(1) to reflect the change in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers, published by the Department of Labor, for the most recent period ending immediately before January 1 preceding such April 1; and

“(2) to round to the nearest $25 the dollar amount that represents the change described in paragraph (1).”

Sec. 204 Amendments to the Equal Credit Opportunity Act

Section 706 of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (15 U.S.C. 1691e) is amended—
(1)
in subsection (b)—
(A)
by striking “$10,000” and inserting “$60,000”; and
(B)
by striking “500,000 or 1” and inserting “$5,000,000 or 5”;
(2)
by adding at the end the following:

“(l) Adjustment—On April 1, 2022, and each April 1 thereafter, each dollar amount in effect under subsection (b) on the day before such April 1 shall be adjusted—

“(1) to reflect the change in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers, published by the Department of Labor, for the most recent period ending immediately before January 1 preceding such April 1; and

“(2) to round to the nearest $25 the dollar amount that represents the change described in paragraph (1).”

Sec. 205 Amendments to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act

The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (15 U.S.C. 1692 et seq.) is amended—
(1)
in section 808 (15 U.S.C. 1692f), by adding at the end the following:

“(9) Filing a lawsuit or a claim in a bankruptcy case that is based on a debt without an actual, reasonable, good-faith belief that the applicable statute of limitations for enforcement of that debt has not expired at the time of filing.

“(10) Any act to knowingly collect or attempt to collect a debt that has been discharged in bankruptcy except acceptance of a purely voluntary payment of the debtor without encouragement or coercion by the debt collector.”

(2)
in section 813 (15 U.S.C. 1692k)—
(A)
in subsection (a)(2)—
(i)
in subparagraph (A), by striking “$1,000” and inserting “$5,000”; and
(ii)
in subparagraph (B), by striking “$500,000 or 1” and inserting “$5,000,000 or 5”; and
(B)
by adding at the end the following:

“(f) On April 1, 2022, and each April 1 thereafter, each dollar amount in effect under paragraph (a)(2) on the day before such April 1 shall be adjusted—

“(1) to reflect the change in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers, published by the Department of Labor, for the most recent period ending immediately before January 1 preceding such April 1; and

“(2) to round to the nearest $25 the dollar amount that represents the change described in paragraph (1).”

Sec. 206 Amendments to the Electronic Fund Transfers Act

Section 916 of the Electronic Fund Transfers Act (15 U.S.C. 1693m) is amended—
(1)
in subsection (a)(2)—
(A)
in subparagraph (A)—
(i)
by striking “$100” and inserting “$500”; and
(ii)
by striking “$1,000” and inserting “$5,000”; and
(B)
in subparagraph (B), by striking “$500,000 or 1” and inserting “$5,000,000 or 5”; and
(2)
by adding at the end the following:

“(h) On April 1, 2022, and each April 1 thereafter, each dollar amount in effect under paragraph (a)(2) on the day before such April 1 shall be adjusted—

“(1) to reflect the change in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers, published by the Department of Labor, for the most recent period ending immediately before January 1 preceding such April 1, and

“(2) to round to the nearest $25 the dollar amount that represents the change described in paragraph (1).”