Credit Eco To Go

Season 4 of #CreditEcotoGo begins with an in-depth conversation about “data portability”.  Section 1033 of Dodd-Frank authorized the #CFPB to write rules around personal financial data rights. Former CFPB Assistant Director, Corey Stone, joins the podcast to discuss the goals of 1033 and whether the proposals went far enough. The data landscape has changed since Congress included this “sleeper” section into the Act. Corey believes the last decade shows us that industry has caught up to what Congress had in mind back in 2011 and therefore the CFPB’s proposals may not be such a heavy lift after all. The question remains whether this will promote competition as the CFPB’s narrative suggests, or will it, like most regulations, result in a “too small to succeed” scenario. Tune in…. DISCLAIMER – No information contained in this Podcast or on this Website shall constitute financial, investment, legal and/or other professional advice and that no professional relationship of any kind is created between you and podcast host, the guests or Clark Hill PLC. You are urged to speak with your financial, investment, or legal advisors before making any investment or legal decisions.

The ecosystem is a circular environment. There is no beginning or end. In #financialservices, the loan origination may begin the process but the decisions made from that starting point will be impactful through the life of the transaction, especially if the loans are sold to the secondary market. This lack of consistency has been a challenge not only for the debt sale market but also for those who want to regulate it. To bring some clarity to the matter, Rebekah (Bekah) Luebcke, Vice President of Operations of Crown Asset Management, stops by #creditecotogo to discuss what entities need to know (as well as what they need to do) if they intend to sell unsecured debt into the secondary market.  The secondary market is nothing new, just look at the mortgage industry, yet there is significant scrutiny upon the unsecured debt market when debt is sold. The response to that scrutiny has been a patchwork of laws and regulations that are inconsistent from state to state. Bekah discusses her experience working on behalf of the industry to educate and inform stakeholders in order to bring much needed consistency within the space. DISCLAIMER – No information contained in this Podcast or on this Website shall constitute financial, investment, legal and/or other professional advice and that no professional relationship of any kind is created between you and podcast host, the guests or Clark Hill PLC. You are urged to speak with your financial, investment, or legal advisors before making any investment or legal decisions.DISCLAIMER – No information contained in this Podcast or on this Website shall constitute financial, investment, legal and/or other professional advice and that no professional relationship of any kind is created between you and podcast host, the guests or Clark Hill PLC. You are urged to speak with your financial, investment, or legal advisors before making any investment or legal decisions.

As the headwinds of a turning economy impact more and more consumers, understanding how #debtsettlement fits into the credit ecosystem makes for a timely conversation. Teresa Dodson, founder of Greenbacks Consulting and the leading expert on debt settlement, stops by #creditecotogo to set the record straight about debt settlement. Consumers enrolled in legitimate debt settlement companies want to resolve their debts; they are not looking for excuses or loopholes from their responsibilities. However, the average consumer looking for assistance from debt settlement companies are juggling 6-8 credit cards at a time. A consumer can try to tackle that reality on their own but more likely it will become overwhelming, Teresa also tells us that consumers’ priorities have flipped. Prior to the pandemic consumers focused on their credit, now consumers are more concerned about paying for their necessities (i.e. food, clothing, shelter and transportation). To meet these new priorities, debt settlement companies will be instrumental in bringing important services to consumers. DISCLAIMER – No information contained in this Podcast or on this Website shall constitute financial, investment, legal and/or other professional advice and that no professional relationship of any kind is created between you and podcast host, the guests or Clark Hill PLC. You are urged to speak with your financial, investment, or legal advisors before making any investment or legal decisions.DISCLAIMER – No information contained in this Podcast or on this Website shall constitute financial, investment, legal and/or other professional advice and that no professional relationship of any kind is created between you and podcast host, the guests or Clark Hill PLC. You are urged to speak with your financial, investment, or legal advisors before making any investment or legal decisions.

Ensuring #fairness at all levels in financial services is the new norm. But how do you do it and how do you know when it is achieved? Kareem Saleh, CEO and Founder of FairPlay AI stops by #CreditEcoToGo to talk about his platform and new #ai fairness methodologies, which do a better job in assessing risk, while at the same time expanding opportunities for credit access. Kareem tells us that “fairness through awareness” and machine-learning algorithms always need to be challenged and refined. Rather than settling for one result, Fairplay exposes their algorithms during model development for alternative outcomes that might not have been well-represented in the first round of data, making the data more sensitive to disadvantaged groups. Kareem hopes this philosophy will enable all financial service entities within the credit cycle, to continue to harness data for the benefit of all consumers. #financialservice #equalaccess #fintech DISCLAIMER – No information contained in this Podcast or on this Website shall constitute financial, investment, legal and/or other professional advice and that no professional relationship of any kind is created between you and podcast host, the guests or Clark Hill PLC. You are urged to speak with your financial, investment, or legal advisors before making any investment or legal decisions.DISCLAIMER – No information contained in this Podcast or on this Website shall constitute financial, investment, legal and/or other professional advice and that no professional relationship of any kind is created between you and podcast host, the guests or Clark Hill PLC. You are urged to speak with your financial, investment, or legal advisors before making any investment or legal decisions.

There is cautious optimism that 2022 will be the year that federal legislation will open the door to the banking of cannabis transactions. But is the Safe Banking Act the answer? On the  latest episode of #CreditEcotoGo with Joann Needleman, Peter Su, Senior Vice President of Green Check Verified manages our expectations and tells us that the real issue is the lack of “capability, capacity, and cost”. The regulatory burden of taking on cannabis customers is significant for financial institutions.  The Safe Banking Act does not address how banks will be supervised and examined by prudential regulators. Adding to this confusion, some states like New York, are implementing policies like “Justice Involved”, which allows applicants who have had convictions for minor marijuana infractions to go to the head of the line when applying for a retail license. The standard customer due diligence policies and anti-money laundering regulations do not align with these potential banking customers and in the end their banking services will cost more. DISCLAIMER – No information contained in this Podcast or on this Website shall constitute financial, investment, legal and/or other professional advice and that no professional relationship of any kind is created between you and podcast host, the guests or Clark Hill PLC. You are urged to speak with your financial, investment, or legal advisors before making any investment or legal decisions.DISCLAIMER – No information contained in this Podcast or on this Website shall constitute financial, investment, legal and/or other professional advice and that no professional relationship of any kind is created between you and podcast host, the guests or Clark Hill PLC. You are urged to speak with your financial, investment, or legal advisors before making any investment or legal decisions.

In the last decade, the CFPB has tried to tackle the question of innovation through partnerships and No-Action Letters. First, there was Project Catalyst which resulted in very few collaborations and a small amount of No-Action Letters. Then there was the Office of Innovation which stood up the Compliance Assistance Sandbox which approved only 3 applications. Now the newly re-tooled Office of Competition and Innovation looks to continue these innovation partnerships but will it succeed? Nat Hoopes, VP and Head of Public Policy and Regulatory Affairs at Upstart stops by #creditecotogo to talk about the challenges of a regulatory partnership. While a No-Action Letter can offer a fintech or financial services entity an opportunity to “innovate in plain sight”, the time and available resources may not be attractive to many companies. For Upstart, the experience and collaboration with the CFPB was very positive but others may see that the juice is not worth the squeeze. DISCLAIMER – No information contained in this Podcast or on this Website shall constitute financial, investment, legal and/or other professional advice and that no professional relationship of any kind is created between you and podcast host, the guests or Clark Hill PLC. You are urged to speak with your financial, investment, or legal advisors before making any investment or legal decisions.DISCLAIMER – No information contained in this Podcast or on this Website shall constitute financial, investment, legal and/or other professional advice and that no professional relationship of any kind is created between you and podcast host, the guests or Clark Hill PLC. You are urged to speak with your financial, investment, or legal advisors before making any investment or legal decisions.

Text and email are not digital versions of a letter or a telephone call. There has to be a strategy that includes consumer consent but also a willingness by that same consumer to continue the conversation. Enter Quanta Credit Services, a new innovative digital-first solutions provider that manages communication strategies. Aleks Whitchurch, CEO and Co-Founder of Quanta stops by the next episode of #creditecotogo to talk about the nuts and bolts of the digital communications journey and the many paths that journey can take. Aleks tells us this is not a volume game but a problem-solving game. Quanta’s data shows that how you treat the consumer and customize the conversation can make a measurable difference. DISCLAIMER – No information contained in this Podcast or on this Website shall constitute financial, investment, legal and/or other professional advice and that no professional relationship of any kind is created between you and podcast host, the guests or Clark Hill PLC. You are urged to speak with your financial, investment, or legal advisors before making any investment or legal decisions.DISCLAIMER – No information contained in this Podcast or on this Website shall constitute financial, investment, legal and/or other professional advice and that no professional relationship of any kind is created between you and podcast host, the guests or Clark Hill PLC. You are urged to speak with your financial, investment, or legal advisors before making any investment or legal decisions.

In a very crowded #fintech market, #CreditEcotoGo welcomes Sedric to the podcast. Voted the Most Promising Fintech Startup of 2022 by #Citi and #Visa,  Sedric is an AI solution which systemically implements the most critical part of a financial institution’s compliance management system: risk detection and remediation. Rather than wait a week or a month for the results of an audit report, Sedric identifies risk and provides on-demand real-time training in order to remediate the risk. Our guests tells us that you don’t have to sacrifice consumer protection for growth, rather consumer protection ultimately protects the financial services system. DISCLAIMER – No information contained in this Podcast or on this Website shall constitute financial, investment, legal and/or other professional advice and that no professional relationship of any kind is created between you and podcast host, the guests or Clark Hill PLC. You are urged to speak with your financial, investment, or legal advisors before making any investment or legal decisions.DISCLAIMER – No information contained in this Podcast or on this Website shall constitute financial, investment, legal and/or other professional advice and that no professional relationship of any kind is created between you and podcast host, the guests or Clark Hill PLC. You are urged to speak with your financial, investment, or legal advisors before making any investment or legal decisions.

The co-Founders of @Creditas, India’s leading technology provider in the delinquent management space, are our guests to kick off the 3rd season of @ClarkHillLaw’s #CreditEcoToGo. Anshuman Panwar and Madan Srinivasan share their observations of the US collections market, where they hope to launch shortly, and the unique architecture of their technology that was built with the consumer in mind. Madan tells us that the US market has all the correct building blocks; the key is how to stitch them together to create a frictionless system that is not based upon morality. Anshuman uses the term “#neocollections” which puts the power back into the hands of the consumer through a complete digital solution. Both believe that this new approach to technology will be a disrupter in the marketplace.  DISCLAIMER – No information contained in this Podcast or on this Website shall constitute financial, investment, legal and/or other professional advice and that no professional relationship of any kind is created between you and podcast host, the guests or Clark Hill PLC. You are urged to speak with your financial, investment, or legal advisors before making any investment or legal decisions.DISCLAIMER – No information contained in this Podcast or on this Website shall constitute financial, investment, legal and/or other professional advice and that no professional relationship of any kind is created between you and podcast host, the guests or Clark Hill PLC. You are urged to speak with your financial, investment, or legal advisors before making any investment or legal decisions.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has always been curious of Big Tech and its penetration into the financial services sector. That curiosity took center stage last month when the CFPB ordered six (6) of the most well-known technology companies (Google, Apply, Facebook, Amazon, Square and PayPal) to turn over information about their “products, plans and practices” when it comes to their payment platforms. Dan Smith,  Executive Vice President, Head of Regulatory Affairs at the Consumer Bankers Association stops by #Creditecotogo to discuss and forecast how the CFPB will use this data collection to shape policy about consumer-authorized use of financial data. As a former Assistant Director at the CFPB, Dan reminds us that back in 2017 the CFPB issued a set of Consumer Protection Principles around data sharing and aggregation. Like the Rime of the Ancient Mariner, 2022 will reveal how the CFPB will navigate this sea of data.  DISCLAIMER – No information contained in this Podcast or on this Website shall constitute financial, investment, legal and/or other professional advice and that no professional relationship of any kind is created between you and podcast host, the guests or Clark Hill PLC. You are urged to speak with your financial, investment, or legal advisors before making any investment or legal decisions.DISCLAIMER – No information contained in this Podcast or on this Website shall constitute financial, investment, legal and/or other professional advice and that no professional relationship of any kind is created between you and podcast host, the guests or Clark Hill PLC. You are urged to speak with your financial, investment, or legal advisors before making any investment or legal decisions.

ARM industry start-up, Spring Oaks Capital, set out to do things differently, but it had no idea that it would launch a new company on the cusp of a worldwide pandemic. Jay Collins, Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer at Spring Oaks Capital, stops by #Creditecotogo to highlight the successes his company has had despite the challenges of COVID. Jay’s story is a lesson to all in the financial services industry, as well as any industry, that establishing a team approach to your workforce and assuring that all players (employers and employees) must commit to the mission is a recipe for success and to lead with compliance.    DISCLAIMER – No information contained in this Podcast or on this Website shall constitute financial, investment, legal and/or other professional advice and that no professional relationship of any kind is created between you and podcast host, the guests or Clark Hill PLC. You are urged to speak with your financial, investment, or legal advisors before making any investment or legal decisions.DISCLAIMER – No information contained in this Podcast or on this Website shall constitute financial, investment, legal and/or other professional advice and that no professional relationship of any kind is created between you and podcast host, the guests or Clark Hill PLC. You are urged to speak with your financial, investment, or legal advisors before making any investment or legal decisions.

In celebration of the one year anniversary of Clark Hill’s #CreditEcoToGo, and its 50th episode, we discuss the digital transformation of the collections industry with Dave Hanrahan, CEO and Co-Founder of Kredit, a next generation software platform that lets consumers interact with all their creditors, and those collecting for them, in one place. Kredit creates options for consumers while empowering them to make decisions about their own financial well-being in a global and holistic way. At the same time, creditors and debt collectors who connect with the platform must vie for the attention of the consumer; those who are responsive and provide the best customer service will likely be the ones who will see recovery first. Kredit is looking to not only build tools for those who need it the most but to also empower consumers to be in control over their own information.    DISCLAIMER – No information contained in this Podcast or on this Website shall constitute financial, investment, legal and/or other professional advice and that no professional relationship of any kind is created between you and podcast host, the guests or Clark Hill PLC. You are urged to speak with your financial, investment, or legal advisors before making any investment or legal decisions.DISCLAIMER – No information contained in this Podcast or on this Website shall constitute financial, investment, legal and/or other professional advice and that no professional relationship of any kind is created between you and podcast host, the guests or Clark Hill PLC. You are urged to speak with your financial, investment, or legal advisors before making any investment or legal decisions.

Michael O’Neill, VP and Bank Secrecy Act Officer at Safe Harbor Private Banking stops by #CreditEcoToGo to talk about his experience building the right compliance program to bank the cannabis industry. Michael tells us cannabis bankers do not grow on trees and building the program goes beyond well beyond ordinary due diligence. Rather it is an ongoing commitment to ensure that the law is followed at every step and banking staff is educated and trained to bank the way regulators want. Safe Harbor is actively banking over 500 cannabis-related accounts and accepting more every day. Since 2015, they have been examined 15 times by state and federal banking regulators and in their latest examination, there were zero findings. Safe Harbor’s success has been from the inside-out.  DISCLAIMER – No information contained in this Podcast or on this Website shall constitute financial, investment, legal and/or other professional advice and that no professional relationship of any kind is created between you and podcast host, the guests or Clark Hill PLC. You are urged to speak with your financial, investment, or legal advisors before making any investment or legal decisions.DISCLAIMER – No information contained in this Podcast or on this Website shall constitute financial, investment, legal and/or other professional advice and that no professional relationship of any kind is created between you and podcast host, the guests or Clark Hill PLC. You are urged to speak with your financial, investment, or legal advisors before making any investment or legal decisions.

Congress, the states, and regulators have been scratching their heads for years when it comes to fintechs. Balancing consumer protection around innovation has been the source of contentious debate. Garry Reeder is the CEO of the newly launched American Fintech Council (AFC), an association that is looking to foster responsible innovation in financial technology. Navigating the “in-between spaces” of the traditional banking system and fintechs is one of the priorities of AFC and its members. as well as establishing a more outcomes-based regulatory scheme that takes into consideration a consumer’s experience. Garry also tells us that defining fintechs will be important because there really is no true definition rather a broad focus on the speed and delivery of financial services. Ultimately, if fintechs are going to be regulated, then AFC will be advocating to ensure that the benefits and protections offered to traditional financial institutions be made available to its members as well.   DISCLAIMER – No information contained in this Podcast or on this Website shall constitute financial, investment, legal and/or other professional advice and that no professional relationship of any kind is created between you and podcast host, the guests or Clark Hill PLC. You are urged to speak with your financial, investment, or legal advisors before making any investment or legal decisions.DISCLAIMER – No information contained in this Podcast or on this Website shall constitute financial, investment, legal and/or other professional advice and that no professional relationship of any kind is created between you and podcast host, the guests or Clark Hill PLC. You are urged to speak with your financial, investment, or legal advisors before making any investment or legal decisions.

Since the start of the pandemic, the financial services industry, including the accounts receivable management (ARM) industry, has predicted that the use of technology to contact consumers will grow exponentially. That prediction came true, but Firstsource Solutions,  a leading provider of business process solutions to more than 100 global businesses, has been using email and text to contact consumers since 2017. Arjun Mitra, President of Global Collections, stops by #CreditEcoToGo to discuss the success of his company’s platform. The results show that consumers are far better off in resolving their financial issues on their own terms.  Arjun reports that RPC or open engagement rates from consumers in a response to an email or text are far superior than any response to a traditional telephone call. Additionally, the platform can fully adapt to a consumer’s response allowing users to constantly adjust and tailor the messaging in order to continue the successful consumer engagement. DISCLAIMER – No information contained in this Podcast or on this Website shall constitute financial, investment, legal and/or other professional advice and that no professional relationship of any kind is created between you and podcast host, the guests or Clark Hill PLC. You are urged to speak with your financial, investment, or legal advisors before making any investment or legal decisions.DISCLAIMER – No information contained in this Podcast or on this Website shall constitute financial, investment, legal and/or other professional advice and that no professional relationship of any kind is created between you and podcast host, the guests or Clark Hill PLC. You are urged to speak with your financial, investment, or legal advisors before making any investment or legal decisions.

Todd Kleperis has spent his life taking risks. From military veteran to Harvard University, Todd never shied away from a challenge. It's no surprise that Todd now makes his living serving high-risk industries in the financial services eco-system. The founder of PayZel, Todd assists financial institutions with the implementation of their bank secrecy and anti-money laundering compliance policies while taking on high-risk depositors. Todd will tell you that banks with innovative boards utilizing sound governance policies can effectively manage this risk and slay the dragon.  DISCLAIMER – No information contained in this Podcast or on this Website shall constitute financial, investment, legal and/or other professional advice and that no professional relationship of any kind is created between you and podcast host, the guests or Clark Hill PLC. You are urged to speak with your financial, investment, or legal advisors before making any investment or legal decisions.DISCLAIMER – No information contained in this Podcast or on this Website shall constitute financial, investment, legal and/or other professional advice and that no professional relationship of any kind is created between you and podcast host, the guests or Clark Hill PLC. You are urged to speak with your financial, investment, or legal advisors before making any investment or legal decisions.

Francis Creighton, President and CEO of the Consumer Data Industry Association (#CDIA) stops by #CreditEcoToGo to talk about the core fundamentals of the credit reporting system and the challenges ahead for 2021.  While state and federal regulators have been laser-focused on credit reporting accuracy, Francis tells us there are two bigger challenges. First is ensuring that more people can be included in the credit reporting system in order to gain better access to credit, Second is the policing of fraudsters who are preying on consumers with poor credit and promising them the removal of accurate information from their credit reports. Accuracy ensures that lenders make informed decisions about creditworthiness. The desire to remove negative information or not report negative information, even if accurate, is not a benefit to either the consumer or the lender. If we want the credit ecosystem to work, the truth must be told. #creditreporting #financialservicesDISCLAIMER – No information contained in this Podcast or on this Website shall constitute financial, investment, legal and/or other professional advice and that no professional relationship of any kind is created between you and podcast host, the guests or Clark Hill PLC. You are urged to speak with your financial, investment, or legal advisors before making any investment or legal decisions.DISCLAIMER – No information contained in this Podcast or on this Website shall constitute financial, investment, legal and/or other professional advice and that no professional relationship of any kind is created between you and podcast host, the guests or Clark Hill PLC. You are urged to speak with your financial, investment, or legal advisors before making any investment or legal decisions.

On this episode of CreditEcoToGo, former CFPB Deputy Director, Tom Pahl, stops by to talk Regulation F. Tom has been the point person on #debtcollection policy while serving at both the FTC and the CFPB. The final debt collection was a decade in the making and Tom talks about the challenges faced by the Bureau and the evolution of the process which resulted in the final rule. Tom does not believe the rule will be rescinded or repealed but certainly changes could be made once a new director is installed at the CFPB. The final rule is not the end of the process. Tom encourages industry to continually engage with the Bureau to ensure that the regulations fulfill its promise of protecting consumers while at the same time ensuring that industry can comply.DISCLAIMER – No information contained in this Podcast or on this Website shall constitute financial, investment, legal and/or other professional advice and that no professional relationship of any kind is created between you and podcast host, the guests or Clark Hill PLC. You are urged to speak with your financial, investment, or legal advisors before making any investment or legal decisions.DISCLAIMER – No information contained in this Podcast or on this Website shall constitute financial, investment, legal and/or other professional advice and that no professional relationship of any kind is created between you and podcast host, the guests or Clark Hill PLC. You are urged to speak with your financial, investment, or legal advisors before making any investment or legal decisions.

Industry expert, Cristy Ward, Chief Strategy Officer for Mortgage Connect stops by Clark Hill’s Credit Eco To Go to discuss the state of the mortgage industry during and after the pandemic. The mandates of the CARES Act and the rush to refinance created unique struggles for the industry. However, Cristy explains that overall the industry did a great job weathering the storm by embracing technology which ultimately benefitted borrowers and will continue to be a positive for consumers going forward. Cristy is also the Founder and Director of the Women Empowering Women executive council – a group of leading Mortgage Banking women who serve the industry through peer-to-peer collaboration, executive coaching, and mentoring for women in banking. A fitting guest for our month-long celebration of #womenshistorymonth2021.DISCLAIMER – No information contained in this Podcast or on this Website shall constitute financial, investment, legal and/or other professional advice and that no professional relationship of any kind is created between you and podcast host, the guests or Clark Hill PLC. You are urged to speak with your financial, investment, or legal advisors before making any investment or legal decisions.DISCLAIMER – No information contained in this Podcast or on this Website shall constitute financial, investment, legal and/or other professional advice and that no professional relationship of any kind is created between you and podcast host, the guests or Clark Hill PLC. You are urged to speak with your financial, investment, or legal advisors before making any investment or legal decisions.

Credit Eco to Go concludes #womenshistorymonth2021 with a long overdue discussion about the Paycheck Protection Program (#PPP). Kathryn “Kate” Rock, Partner at Guidehouse, incoming President of Women in Housing & Finance and one of the foremost authorities of the #PPP, stops by the podcast to talk about this transformational government program. For borrowers, the PPP was a business lifeline to get through the economic struggles brought on by the pandemic. For lenders, the PPP was a mixed bag of operational challenges and confusing regulations. At the same time, it was an expansion of business development opportunities for new and existing customers. The PPP is now in its second iteration. However as Kate tells us, the next challenge for lenders will be the servicing of these loans over the next five (5) plus years. DISCLAIMER – No information contained in this Podcast or on this Website shall constitute financial, investment, legal and/or other professional advice and that no professional relationship of any kind is created between you and podcast host, the guests or Clark Hill PLC. You are urged to speak with your financial, investment, or legal advisors before making any investment or legal decisions.DISCLAIMER – No information contained in this Podcast or on this Website shall constitute financial, investment, legal and/or other professional advice and that no professional relationship of any kind is created between you and podcast host, the guests or Clark Hill PLC. You are urged to speak with your financial, investment, or legal advisors before making any investment or legal decisions.