Consumer Financial Services
Unparalleled Breadth of Experience
Our comprehensive approach and practical experience in regulatory and compliance matters include:
- Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) regulations
- Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act and Regulation X
- Truth in Lending Act and Regulation Z
- Fair Credit Reporting Act, including FACTA and Regulation V
- Consumer Leasing Act and Regulation M
- Home Ownership and Equity Protection Act and Regulation Z (Section 32)
- Equal Credit Opportunity Act and Regulation B
- Gramm–Leach–Bliley Act and state privacy laws
- Home Mortgage Disclosure Act and Regulation C
- FHA, VA, and GSE rules and regulations
- Homeowners Protection Act
- The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, the Military Lending Act, and related state laws
- Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) and state debt collection laws
- State and local anti-predatory lending laws
- State appraisal, appraisal management, and real estate laws (including alternative valuation products (AVMs and BPOs))
- National Flood Insurance Act
- State licensing, registration, notification, and doing-business statutes (including NMLS)
- Unfair and deceptive trade practices laws and various other consumer protection laws
Representative Services
Appraisals and Alternative Valuation Products
We assist appraisal management companies (AMCs), appraisal firms, other service providers, and mortgage lenders and servicers with compliance issues and enforcement responses that arise in appraisal and valuation matters, including licensing and compliance with the Interagency Appraisal and Evaluation Guidelines, TILA appraisal independent requirements, and state licensing laws.
Consumer Credit Products
Our experience includes nearly every type of consumer credit product in the market today: mortgage loans (forward and reverse), student loans, auto finance, credit cards, secured and unsecured consumer loans, installment loans, payday loans, and boat/yacht loans, as well as money transmission, check cashing, and other licensed financial services.
Examinations and Enforcement
We assist regulated entities (including mortgage lenders and servicers, auto and consumer lenders) with managing the examination or investigation life cycle at the state and federal levels. We regularly assist clients with examinations or enforcement matters before state financial regulators and attorneys general, as well as before federal agencies including the CFPB, Department of Justice, Federal Trade Commission, and others. We prepare entities for examination and assist them in responding to examination inquiries, findings, and civil investigative demands and other formal investigations and enforcement matters.
FHA, VA, and GSEs
We help clients obtain approvals required to navigate FHA, VA, and GSE lending programs. We have routinely represented clients before HUD and the various other federal agencies for mortgagee approvals, examinations, and various other issues. We frequently work with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac approved sellers and/or servicers and Ginnie Mae issuers to help them navigate the regulatory obstacles in the GSE space.
Licensing
Our lawyers are supported by a veteran team of industry licensing professionals who obtain and maintain state licenses for a number of players in the financial services arena, including mortgage originators, purchasers of loans, loan servicers, student lenders, and early wage access clients. Our licensing experience includes obtaining de novo licenses for various financial services participants and advising and licensing entities that purchase companies through stock or asset acquisitions.
Acquisition and Loan-Level Due Diligence
Alston & Bird’s regulatory and compliance lawyers also routinely counsel our corporate clients, as well as the nation’s leading due diligence companies, in conducting regulatory diligence for potential acquisition targets and the valuation of whole loans and various other financial products, whether unsecured or secured by real estate or personal property.
Originations
We advise clients on all aspects of origination compliance for unsecured, personal-property secured, and first- and subordinate-lien forward and reverse residential mortgage loans, including applicable federal and state disclosure obligations, marketing, affiliated business arrangements, loan originator compensation, branch arrangements, wholesale lending, and usury and fee requirements.
Preemption
We also manage the legal issues governing federal and state bank regulations, including rate exportation issues, first-mortgage preemption, alternative mortgage transactions, and agency powers and procedures regarding professional liability claims. Furthermore, we have been instrumental in obtaining favorable opinions from federal bank regulators preempting state banking and consumer laws, including anti-pass-through taxes, hazard insurance, loan-related fees, and escrow account requirements.
Servicing and Debt Collection
We advise servicers on federal, state, and local requirements resulting from the Dodd–Frank Act and the enactment of the national servicing standards, including fees, disclosures, loss mitigation requirements, other substantive restrictions, and the interplay between the FDCPA and other laws.
Full-Service Firm Capabilities
Our team is closely aligned with the firm’s full interdisciplinary resources, including:
- Legislative and Regulatory Affairs: We collaborate with our preeminent Legislative & Public Policy Group to provide sophisticated legislative and regulatory strategy advice. We prepare and submit comment letters, draft legislative proposals, work with policymakers to implement legislative and regulatory changes, and recognize opportunities to educate regulators on business practices and the need for coordinated regulatory oversight.
- Litigation: We represent leading banks, financial institutions, CMBS special servicers, and investment funds and advisers in a cross-section of high-stakes litigation, from consumer finance to the capital markets.
- Mergers and Acquisitions: We counsel entities on various mergers and acquisitions, helping to structure the transactions and ensuring that all regulatory hurdles are cleared.
- Privacy: We advise the financial services industry in all aspects of federal and state privacy and data security laws with the support of our Privacy, Cyber & Data Strategy Team.
- Secondary-Market Transactions: We are the leading counsel to some of Wall Street’s largest secondary-market players, advising them on the regulatory aspects of various transactions, including whole-loan purchases and sales, securitizations, master servicing rights and agreements, subservicing rights and agreements, and warehouse lending transactions.
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Speaking Engagement June 10, 2025MBA Residential Future Leaders ProgramNanci Weissgold joins the Leadership Panel during the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Residential Future Leaders Program in Washington, D.C.Speaking Engagement June 10, 2025MBA Residential Future Leaders ProgramNanci Weissgold joins the Leadership Panel during the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Residential Future Leaders Program in Washington, D.C.
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Press Release June 5, 2025Alston & Bird Continues to Increase Rankings in Chambers USA 2025Alston & Bird has received significant recognition in the 2025 edition of Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business, with 77 practice rankings and 164 leading lawyer listings.Press Release June 5, 2025Alston & Bird Continues to Increase Rankings in Chambers USA 2025Alston & Bird has received significant recognition in the 2025 edition of Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business, with 77 practice rankings and 164 leading lawyer listings.
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Blog Posts May 30, 2025Update on New Maryland Law Clarifying Exemptions for Certain Mortgage Trusts
What Happened? As we previously advised you, in 2024, the Maryland Appellate Court in Estate of H. Gregory Brown v. Carrie M. Ward, et al., No. 1009, (App. Ct. Sept. Term 2023), ruled that a statutory trust that held a defaulted home equity line of credit (a “HELOC”) must be licensed as both an installment […]
The post Update on New Maryland Law Clarifying Exemptions for Certain Mortgage Trusts appeared first on Of Interest.
Blog Posts May 30, 2025Update on New Maryland Law Clarifying Exemptions for Certain Mortgage TrustsWhat Happened? As we previously advised you, in 2024, the Maryland Appellate Court in Estate of H. Gregory Brown v. Carrie M. Ward, et al., No. 1009, (App. Ct. Sept. Term 2023), ruled that a statutory trust that held a defaulted home equity line of credit (a “HELOC”) must be licensed as both an installment […]
The post Update on New Maryland Law Clarifying Exemptions for Certain Mortgage Trusts appeared first on Of Interest.
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Speaking Engagement May 29–30, 2025CCFL 2025 Spring Consumer Financial Services ConferenceNanci Weissgold joins the May 30 panel “Updates in Mortgage Servicing” at this conference sponsored by The Conference on Consumer Finance Law (CCFL).Speaking Engagement May 29–30, 2025CCFL 2025 Spring Consumer Financial Services ConferenceNanci Weissgold joins the May 30 panel “Updates in Mortgage Servicing” at this conference sponsored by The Conference on Consumer Finance Law (CCFL).
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Blog Posts May 28, 20255 Things to Think About When Using AI
What Happened? As the Trump Administration’s deregulatory, pro-innovation approach to emerging technology moves forward, the use of artificial intelligence has taken center stage, and it is clear that the Administration views it as a competitive economic force. The Administration’s emphasis on growth and deregulation was clear from its early days as it revoked the Biden […]
The post 5 Things to Think About When Using AI appeared first on Of Interest.
Blog Posts May 28, 20255 Things to Think About When Using AIWhat Happened? As the Trump Administration’s deregulatory, pro-innovation approach to emerging technology moves forward, the use of artificial intelligence has taken center stage, and it is clear that the Administration views it as a competitive economic force. The Administration’s emphasis on growth and deregulation was clear from its early days as it revoked the Biden […]
The post 5 Things to Think About When Using AI appeared first on Of Interest.
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Blog Posts May 19, 2025From Uncertainty to Action: DOJ Rolls Out a New White-Collar Enforcement Playbook
On May 12, 2025, the head of the U.S. Department of Justice Criminal Division, Matthew Galeotti, announced a new white-collar enforcement plan rooted in three tenets: “focus, fairness, and efficiency.” The new plan includes updates to the Criminal Division’s Corporate Enforcement Policy, independent compliance monitor selection policy, and whistleblower programs. In announcing the new plan, […]
The post From Uncertainty to Action: DOJ Rolls Out a New White-Collar Enforcement Playbook appeared first on Of Interest.
Blog Posts May 19, 2025From Uncertainty to Action: DOJ Rolls Out a New White-Collar Enforcement PlaybookOn May 12, 2025, the head of the U.S. Department of Justice Criminal Division, Matthew Galeotti, announced a new white-collar enforcement plan rooted in three tenets: “focus, fairness, and efficiency.” The new plan includes updates to the Criminal Division’s Corporate Enforcement Policy, independent compliance monitor selection policy, and whistleblower programs. In announcing the new plan, […]
The post From Uncertainty to Action: DOJ Rolls Out a New White-Collar Enforcement Playbook appeared first on Of Interest.
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Speaking Engagement May 18–21, 2025MBA's Secondary & Capital Markets Conference 2025Nanci Weissgold will speak during opening remarks at this conference 2025 hosted by the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA).Speaking Engagement May 18–21, 2025MBA's Secondary & Capital Markets Conference 2025Nanci Weissgold will speak during opening remarks at this conference 2025 hosted by the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA).
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Blog Posts May 15, 2025Wave Goodbye to the Waiver Debate: Court Holds Data Breach Investigation Report Not Work Product from the Start
Litigants in data breach class actions often fight over whether a data breach investigation report prepared in response to the breach is protected by the work-product doctrine. Common areas of dispute include whether the report was prepared in whole or in part for business—not legal—purposes, and whether the report relays facts that are not discernable […]
The post Wave Goodbye to the Waiver Debate: Court Holds Data Breach Investigation Report Not Work Product from the Start appeared first on Of Interest.
Blog Posts May 15, 2025Wave Goodbye to the Waiver Debate: Court Holds Data Breach Investigation Report Not Work Product from the StartLitigants in data breach class actions often fight over whether a data breach investigation report prepared in response to the breach is protected by the work-product doctrine. Common areas of dispute include whether the report was prepared in whole or in part for business—not legal—purposes, and whether the report relays facts that are not discernable […]
The post Wave Goodbye to the Waiver Debate: Court Holds Data Breach Investigation Report Not Work Product from the Start appeared first on Of Interest.
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Speaking Engagement May 14–17, 2025MBA’s 2025 Legal Issues and Regulatory Compliance ConferenceNanci Weissgold, Anoush Garakani, and Melissa Malpass speak during this conference sponsored by the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA).Speaking Engagement May 14–17, 2025MBA’s 2025 Legal Issues and Regulatory Compliance ConferenceNanci Weissgold, Anoush Garakani, and Melissa Malpass speak during this conference sponsored by the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA).
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Speaking Engagement May 13, 20252025 HPC Annual MeetingNanci Weissgold joins a panel discussion of the Trump Administration’s changes to the focus and authorities of independent agencies such as CFPB and FHFA during the Housing Policy Council’s 2025 annual meeting.Speaking Engagement May 13, 20252025 HPC Annual MeetingNanci Weissgold joins a panel discussion of the Trump Administration’s changes to the focus and authorities of independent agencies such as CFPB and FHFA during the Housing Policy Council’s 2025 annual meeting.