A federal judge in Texas reversed an ICBA-opposed Consumer Financial Protection Bureau rule that barred consumer credit reports from including medical debt.
Details: U.S. District Judge Sean Jordan said the rule is not permitted under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. The CFPB earlier this year asked the judge to strike down the rule, saying it had exceeded its legal authority.
Background: The CFPB last year proposed to amend FCRA regulations by prohibiting creditors from using medical financial information and by limiting the circumstances under which consumer reporting agencies are permitted to provide medical debt information to creditors.
ICBA View: ICBA last August told the CFPB that the rule would lead to inaccurate reports and that the bureau does not have the statutory discretion to eliminate the use of all medical debt from consumer reports.