Strict Collection Laws Reduce Credit Access According to Fed Paper

Debt collectors will long remember 2013 as a watershed year for the regulation of our industry.

The CFPB issued its Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking while continuing  on-site examinations of debt collector larger market participants, enforcement actions, and publishing data from its complaint portal.  The FTC issued a record fine against a debt collector and joined the CFPB in several important amicus briefs submitted in pending FDCPA cases.  Numerous States also tightened regulation on the debt industry.

All of this regulation of the debt collection industry is apparently aimed at aiding consumers.  However, a recent study published by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia empirically established that stricter debt laws actually harm consumers by reducing their access to credit.

In this episode of ARM industry legal audio blog, The Debt Collection Drill, attorneys John Rossman and Mike Poncin discuss this Federal Reserve Bank study from May 2013 and its impact on future regulation of the debt industry.

(For even more on the Philly Fed story, see insideARM.com coverage from December 19.)

Listen to the 10-minute episode below:

Strict Collection Laws Harm Consumers, Reduce Credit Access

http://traffic.libsyn.com/thedrill/TDCD_ep34.mp3

(If you can’t see the audio player above, please visit http://traffic.libsyn.com/thedrill/TDCD_ep34.mp3 to listen to the podcast)