The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ("CFPB") notified servicemembers of new protections and a veterans alert.

The CFPB outlined that:

  • lenders now will be held to more "stringent requirements," including requiring lenders to provide borrowers with net tangible benefits if refinancing, in order for loans to be guaranteed or insured by the Veteran Affairs ("VA") (effective as of May 2018);
  • there is continued foreclosure protection for servicemembers for one year following active duty (this permanent protection became effective in May 2018);
  • veterans will have greater credit reporting protections on certain medical debts that are owed to "private medical providers when the VA has authorized payments for those services" (provisions of this new law will become effective on May 24, 2019); and
  • active duty servicemembers will be provided with free electronic credit monitoring (the Federal Trade Commission is responsible for writing the new rules regarding free credit monitoring for servicemembers and the rules will become effective before May 24, 2019).

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