Daily Digest - August 10, 2026

🎂 Happy Birthday: Omar Aguilar of Dakota Financial, Danielle Kotler Elmalam of Bounce, Michael Jeffrey Brazier of Service First Processing, Shannon Hansen of CCMR3, Richard Rotondo of Digital Vision Banking, and Jenny Davis of
Forward Financing. Happy belated Birthday to: Gavin Fredricks of ZIZO Technologies (August 9), and Shriket Pai of Rausch Sturm LLP (August 8).

🎉Congratulations for starting new positions: Tiffany Lewis as Collections Manager at AFM, Evan Roth as Senior Project Manager at American Coradius International, and Nathan Anderson as Senior Enterprise Account Executive at Equabli, Inc.,

New Digital Communications Report

The industry is optimistic. Placements are expected to climb. Consumers, it turns out, are more ready for digital than the businesses serving them.

New AI Event!

Have you checked out the speakers who are coming to brainstorm? It’s not just a who’s who of the people you have seen on webinars talking about AI, it’s software engineers, AI programmers, and executives who are all-in on the technology and will share their success stories, and not-so-successful stories to prevent you from making the same mistakes.

FTC Abandons Disparate Impact Claims

• The FTC just declared it will never again bring a disparate-impact claim, under any statute it enforces, and it is unwinding prior consent orders to prove it means it. The announcement narrows federal fair-lending exposure considerably, but there is one big reason furnishers and creditors should not retire their fair-lending analytics just yet.

• More details here.

A MESSAGE FROM TCN

TODAY’S WEBINAR

UPCOMING WEBINARS

Consumers Feel Better About Their Finances, But More Expect to Miss a Debt Payment: NY Fed

• Households say they are in their best financial shape in months. So why did the expected probability of missing a debt payment just jump, and why is the increase concentrated in exactly the income segments that fill most collection portfolios? The New York Fed's latest survey has a soft spot forming right where the industry lives.

• More details here.

Appeals Court Affirms $32k Fee Award Against Plaintiff in Credit Reporting Case

• Three lawsuits. Same tradeline. Same result, until the third one ended with the plaintiff owing the credit reporting agency more than $32,000, which was actually more than the defendant asked for. The Fifth Circuit's explanation of why no frivolousness finding was needed is a roadmap worth keeping for anyone facing a serial filer.

• More details here.

Appeals Court Affirms Ruling for Auto Lender in TILA, FDCPA, TCPA Case

• A borrower stopped paying, lost his truck, and threw three federal statutes at the lender. The Tenth Circuit swatted down every one, noting the required disclosures were "brandished" on page one of the contract, and closed with a pointed reminder about the first task of any appellant.

• More details here.

Indiana Appeals Court Won't Undo Seven-Year-Old Default Judgment Over Service Dispute

• Seven years after a debt buyer won a default judgment over a $980 debt, the defendant tried to erase it, claiming he never got the summons. The Indiana Court of Appeals explained why his word alone was not enough, even under a relaxed standard triggered when the plaintiff never bothered to file a brief.

• More details here.

New Benchmark Data Shows AI Thrives Where the Rules Are Known

• Financial services is scaling AI faster than any other sector, but almost entirely in places customers never see. New benchmark data reveals exactly which tasks are winning, which are stalling at 10% adoption, and the one barrier holding back the firms that have gone furthest. The pattern maps neatly onto how ARM shops should be thinking about deployment.

• More details here.

Compliance Digest – August 10

• Ten rulings, ten expert takes, and a new sponsor. This week's Digest covers a 28-page opinion built on Reconstruction-era precedent (with an iceberg metaphor you have to read), fabricated case citations called out on appeal, a pro se plaintiff on his fourth bite at the apple, and the Seventh Circuit's line on what the FCRA does not require CRAs to do.

• More details here

• This series is sponsored by Frost Echols

WORTH NOTING: Fewer employers are planning on "peanut butter" raises and going back to performance-based raises ... Mistakes to avoid when buying a used EV ... A list of "boring" jobs that pay pretty well and are desperate for workers ... Be on the lookout for "jury duty" scams that sound pretty convincing ... What you should do with all those pennies you have lying around ... A look at which area codes were most in demand in 2025 ... A career coach shares tips to help people ace job interviews and combat anxiety ... America's hottest housing markets are in the Midwest and Northeast.

Music Monday, part I

Music Monday, Part II

Webinar Recap: The Student Loan Default Reckoning

The webinar, sponsored by Cornerstone, explored the mounting student loan default crisis, with $1.7 trillion in federal student loan debt and millions of borrowers entering delinquency or default. Panelists emphasized that confusion among borrowers, regulatory uncertainty, and overwhelmed servicers are fueling the problem. The discussion highlighted how student loan repayment affects broader consumer debt, including credit cards and medical bills, and underscored the need for clarity, compliance, and borrower education.

🧠 Key Takeaways:

• Prioritize borrower education and clarity 
  As Niel Welborn noted, “It’s less about collections today than it is clarity.” Agencies should focus on counseling borrowers, explaining loan types, and dispelling forgiveness misconceptions.

• Evaluate litigation strategies carefully 
  With 53% of Americans lacking $1,000 in savings, panelists cautioned that lawsuits may be ineffective if borrowers lack assets. Agencies should weigh recovery potential against costs before pursuing legal action.

• Strengthen compliance and operational readiness 
  Servicers remain overwhelmed post-COVID, and regulatory shifts continue. Staying ahead of CFPB guidance and ensuring compliance frameworks are robust will be critical for sustainable operations.

This session reinforced that the student loan default crisis is not isolated—it impacts the entire credit and collections ecosystem. As David Glezerman put it, “We’re at the reckoning now. A lot of the things we pushed down the road are coming into play, and somebody’s gotta deal with them.”

Did you know you can get full access to all of my past webinars, along with transcripts and summaries of each, for only $29/month? Sign up to be a premium subscriber today!

The Daily Digest is sponsored by TCN