An online lender was ordered to pay $15 million for deceiving customers, withdrawing funds without consent and violating an earlier order, the federal consumer financial protection agency said Wednesday.
Enova International Inc. of Chicago was ordered to make the payment by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). The agency also banned the firm from offering certain consumer loans, ordered Enova to provide redress to the consumers it harmed, and required the firm to tie executive compensation to the company’s compliance with federal consumer financial protection laws.
According to the bureau, Enova is alleged to have, among other things, withdrawn funds from customers’ bank accounts without their permission, made deceptive statements about loans, and cancelled loan extensions.
And, the agency noted, it’s not the first time Enova has faced an order from the bureau: Enova paid a $3.2 million penalty to the CFPB in 2019 and was ordered to cease its illegal conduct, the CFPB asserted. Because of its past activities, the agency imposed the additional conditions through its order (banned from offering some loans, provide redress to consumers, etc.).
“Enova decided to keep flouting the law after it was caught taking advantage of its customers, and violated a law enforcement order,” said CFPB Director Rohit Chopra.
The CFPB described Enova as a publicly traded nonbank lender that extends or arranges unsecured installment loans and lines of credit to consumers in 37 states through its CashNetUSA- and NetCredit-branded subsidiaries. The agency said that until 2022, Enova also extended unsecured payday loans to consumers through its CashNetUSA-branded subsidiaries.
“After taking action against Enova in 2019, the CFPB investigated Enova’s compliance with the 2019 order,” the bureau said in a release. “The investigation found that the company was continuing to engage in illegal behavior, affecting more than 111,000 consumers.”