12 U.S.C. § 5535 — Private Education Loan Ombudsman

Page 1974 TITLE 12—BANKS AND BANKING § 5535 to section 5515 of this title shall, in a timely manner, comply with a consumer request for information in the control or possession of such covered person concerning the consumer financial product or service that the consumer obtained from such covered person, including supporting written documentation, concerning the account of the consumer. (2) Exceptions A covered person subject to supervision and primary enforcement by the Bureau pursuant to section 5515 of this title, a prudential regu- lator, and any other agency having jurisdic- tion over a covered person subject to super- vision and primary enforcement by the Bureau pursuant to section 5515 of this title may not be required by this section to make available to the consumer— (A) any confidential commercial informa- tion, including an algorithm used to derive credit scores or other risk scores or predic- tors; (B) any information collected by the cov- ered person for the purpose of preventing fraud or money laundering, or detecting or making any report regarding other unlawful or potentially unlawful conduct; (C) any information required to be kept confidential by any other provision of law; or (D) any nonpublic or confidential informa- tion, including confidential supervisory in- formation. (d) Agreements with other agencies The Bureau shall enter into a memorandum of understanding with any affected Federal regu- latory agency regarding procedures by which any covered person, and the prudential regu- lators, and any other agency having jurisdiction over a covered person, including the Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Devel- opment and the Secretary of Education, shall comply with this section. (Pub. L. 111–203, title X, § 1034, July 21, 2010, 124 Stat. 2008.) Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE Section effective on the designated transfer date, see section 1037 of Pub. L. 111–203, set out as a note under section 5531 of this title. § 5535. Private Education Loan Ombudsman (a) Establishment The Secretary, in consultation with the Direc- tor, shall designate a Private Education Loan Ombudsman (in this section referred to as the ‘‘Ombudsman’’) within the Bureau, to provide timely assistance to borrowers of private edu- cation loans. (b) Public information The Secretary and the Director shall dissemi- nate information about the availability and functions of the Ombudsman to borrowers and potential borrowers, as well as institutions of higher education, lenders, guaranty agencies, loan servicers, and other participants in private education student loan programs. (c) Functions of Ombudsman The Ombudsman designated under this sub- section shall— (1) in accordance with regulations of the Di- rector, receive, review, and attempt to resolve informally complaints from borrowers of loans described in subsection (a), including, as ap- propriate, attempts to resolve such complaints in collaboration with the Department of Edu- cation and with institutions of higher edu- cation, lenders, guaranty agencies, loan servicers, and other participants in private education loan programs; (2) not later than 90 days after the des- ignated transfer date, establish a memo- randum of understanding with the student loan ombudsman established under section 1018(f) of title 20, to ensure coordination in providing assistance to and serving borrowers seeking to resolve complaints related to their private education or Federal student loans; (3) compile and analyze data on borrower complaints regarding private education loans; and (4) make appropriate recommendations to the Director, the Secretary, the Secretary of Education, the Committee on Banking, Hous- ing, and Urban Affairs and the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate and the Committee on Financial Serv- ices and the Committee on Education and Labor of the House of Representatives. (d) Annual reports (1) In general The Ombudsman shall prepare an annual re- port that describes the activities, and evalu- ates the effectiveness of the Ombudsman dur- ing the preceding year. (2) Submission The report required by paragraph (1) shall be submitted on the same date annually to the Secretary, the Secretary of Education, the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs and the Committee on Health, Edu- cation, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate and the Committee on Financial Services and the Committee on Education and Labor of the House of Representatives. (e) Definitions For purposes of this section, the terms ‘‘pri- vate education loan’’ and ‘‘institution of higher education’’ have the same meanings as in sec- tion 1650 of title 15. (Pub. L. 111–203, title X, § 1035, July 21, 2010, 124 Stat. 2009.) Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries CHANGE OF NAME Committee on Education and Labor of House of Rep- resentatives changed to Committee on Education and the Workforce of House of Representatives by House Resolution No. 5, One Hundred Eighteenth Congress, Jan. 9, 2023. EFFECTIVE DATE Section effective on the designated transfer date, see section 1037 of Pub. L. 111–203, set out as a note under section 5531 of this title. Page 1975 TITLE 12—BANKS AND BANKING § 5537 1 See References in Text note below. § 5536. Prohibited acts (a) In general It shall be unlawful for— (1) any covered person or service provider— (A) to offer or provide to a consumer any financial product or service not in con- formity with Federal consumer financial law, or otherwise commit any act or omis- sion in violation of a Federal consumer fi- nancial law; or (B) to engage in any unfair, deceptive, or abusive act or practice; (2) any covered person or service provider to fail or refuse, as required by Federal consumer financial law, or any rule or order issued by the Bureau thereunder— (A) to permit access to or copying of records; (B) to establish or maintain records; or (C) to make reports or provide information to the Bureau; or (3) any person to knowingly or recklessly provide substantial assistance to a covered person or service provider in violation of the provisions of section 5531 of this title, or any rule or order issued thereunder, and notwith- standing any provision of this title,1 the pro- vider of such substantial assistance shall be deemed to be in violation of that section to the same extent as the person to whom such assistance is provided. (b) Exception No person shall be held to have violated sub- section (a)(1) solely by virtue of providing or selling time or space to a covered person or serv- ice provider placing an advertisement. (Pub. L. 111–203, title X, § 1036, July 21, 2010, 124 Stat. 2010.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT This title, where footnoted in subsec. (a)(3), is title X of Pub. L. 111–203, July 21, 2010, 124 Stat. 1955, known as the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010, which enacted this subchapter and enacted, amended, and re- pealed numerous other sections and notes in the Code. For complete classification of title X to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 5301 of this title and Tables. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE Section effective on the designated transfer date, see section 1037 of Pub. L. 111–203, set out as a note under section 5531 of this title. § 5537. Senior investor protections (a) Definitions As used in this section— (1) the term ‘‘eligible entity’’ means— (A) a securities commission (or any agency or office performing like functions) of a State that the Office determines has adopted rules on the appropriate use of designations in the offer or sale of securities or the provi- sion of investment advice that meet or ex- ceed the minimum requirements of the NASAA Model Rule on the Use of Senior- Specific Certifications and Professional Des- ignations (or any successor thereto); (B) the insurance commission (or any agency or office performing like functions) of any State that the Office determines has— (i) adopted rules on the appropriate use of designations in the sale of insurance products that, to the extent practicable, conform to the minimum requirements of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners Model Regulation on the Use of Senior-Specific Certifications and Professional Designations in the Sale of Life Insurance and Annuities (or any suc- cessor thereto); and (ii) adopted rules with respect to fidu- ciary or suitability requirements in the sale of annuities that meet or exceed the minimum requirements established by the Suitability in Annuity Transactions Model Regulation of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (or any suc- cessor thereto); or (C) a consumer protection agency of any State, if— (i) the securities commission (or any agency or office performing like functions) of the State is eligible under subparagraph (A); or (ii) the insurance commission (or any agency or office performing like functions) of the State is eligible under subparagraph (B); (2) the term ‘‘financial product’’ means a se- curity, an insurance product (including an in- surance product that pays a return, whether fixed or variable), a bank product, and a loan product; (3) the term ‘‘misleading designation’’— (A) means a certification, professional des- ignation, or other purported credential that indicates or implies that a salesperson or ad- viser has special certification or training in advising or servicing seniors; and (B) does not include a certification, profes- sional designation, license, or other creden- tial that— (i) was issued by or obtained from an academic institution having regional ac- creditation; (ii) meets the standards for certifi- cations and professional designations out- lined by the NASAA Model Rule on the Use of Senior-Specific Certifications and Professional Designations (or any suc- cessor thereto) or by the Model Regula- tions on the Use of Senior-Specific Certifi- cations and Professional Designations in the Sale of Life Insurance and Annuities, adopted by the National Association of In- surance Commissioners (or any successor thereto); or (iii) was issued by or obtained from a State; (4) the term ‘‘misleading or fraudulent mar- keting’’ means the use of a misleading des-