Indian Nations Law Update - February 2017: Ninth Circuit Rejects Tribal Online Lenders' "Co-Regulator" Argument

In Consumer Financial Protection Bureau v. Great Plains Lending, 2017 WL 242560 (9th Cir. 2017), the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued civil investigative demands (CIDs), i.e., subpoenas, to Great Plains Lending, LLC, Mobiloans, LLC, and Plain Green, LLC (Tribal Lending Entities), online lending companies created and owned by the Chippewa Cree, Tunica Biloxi and Otoe Missouria Tribes (Tribes). The CFPB’s stated purpose was “to determine whether small-dollar online lenders or other unnamed persons have engaged or are engaging in unlawful acts or practices relating to the advertising, marketing, provision, or collection of small-dollar loan products, in violation of Section 1036 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, 12 U.S.C. § 5536, the Truth in Lending Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1601, the Electronic Funds Transfer Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1693, the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, 15 U.S.C. §§ 6802-6809, or any other Federal consumer financial law.”

http://www.natlawreview.com/article/indian-nations-law-update-february-2017-ninth-circuit-rejects-tribal-online-lenders