The American Financial Services Association submitted an amicus brief on April 27 to the U.S. District Court of Maine. The case was brought by the Consumer Data Industry Association (CDIA) against Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey and Superintendent of the Maine Bureau of Consumer Credit Protection William Lund. The case challenges two bills, the Medical Bill Act and the Economic Abuse Act passed by the Maine legislature in 2019.

We asked AFSA Vice President of Compliance Education Philip Bohi for his thoughts on compliance issues and his thoughts as we begin planning for a return to more normal business operations.

AFSA has become aware of several scam companies and individuals posing as AFSA staff members offering a variety of different professional contact lists. Many of the most recent messages offer discounted lists because of the need to cancel/postpone many meetings.

President Trump today signed into law an additional $484 billion in coronavirus relief, $310 billion of which replenishes the Small Business Administration (SBA) Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). Senate Small Business Committee Chairman, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) announced via Twitter that he expects the PPP to restart Monday morning.

This week, the American Financial Services Association submitted a letter to the FCC requesting immediate action regarding a petition that AFSA and other trade associations submitted last month.

AFSA’s State Government Affairs (SGA) team yesterday submitted a comment letter regarding Massachusetts HD 5014, which would enact emergency financial protections and forbearance for consumers and small business during the COVID-19 pandemic. While AFSA’s members share the goal of providing relief to borrowers facing financial hardship, the bill as drafted would likely disrupt credit markets and create significant compliance challenges for creditors at a time when resources should be most focused on providing direct consumer relief. Among AFSA’s many concerns with the bill is its wide-ranging scope; as drafted, much of the bill would apply without relation to a consumer’s COVID-19 financial situation. AFSA urged the legislature to revise the bill’s requirements to cover consumers facing demonstrated financial hardships directly attributable to COVID-19.

This is part two of our AFSA Extra Credit Podcast series covering the COVID-19 pandemic.In this conversation, we’re speaking with David Anthony and Sadia Mirza, also with Troutman, on the overall impact of the virus, including debt collection, credit reporting and the TCPA, and also some cybersecurity aspects to think about. Because of the complex nature of these topics, you’ll notice the conversations are a bit longer as well. Be sure to check out AFSA’s coronavirus resource page, the AFSA blog, and social media for the most up to date information.

The news cycle continues to turn and with it comes more information about the coronavirus. Consumer finance companies, like ordinary Americans, are drinking from the firehose, trying to sift through what they need to know now to continue serving customers and helping employees. We’ve tried to distill the information flow down to the top four things you need to know.

The health and safety of AFSA members, their colleagues and our business partners is our top priority. As a result, to the COVID-19 pandemic, AFSA is canceling the Law & Compliance Symposium and related committee meetings scheduled for June 2-4 in Dallas. Please stay safe, and we look forward to connecting and working together in person very soon.

The American Financial Services Association State Government Affairs (SGA) team today published a COVID-19 state policy update white paper, the first of two covering state responses to the coronavirus outbreak.