Anywhere Agrees to $20M Settlement, Fathom Embraces Bitcoin, and Wells Fargo’s CFPB Burden Lifts

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Anywhere Agrees to $20M Settlement

In a major settlement, Anywhere Real Estate has agreed to pay $20 million to resolve a long-running lawsuit under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. The case stems from over 700,000 phone calls allegedly made by agents with Coldwell Banker, a subsidiary of Anywhere, between 2015 and 2020.

Class members, roughly 298,000 people, are set to receive about $281 each, based on a 15% claim rate. The lawsuit accused the company of contacting consumers on the National Do Not Call Registry and leaving prerecorded messages.

Attorneys for the real estate giant said that agreeing to the settlement was in the company’s best interest, avoiding a potential multi-million-dollar judgment. The settlement, which is still subject to preliminary approval next month, comes just ahead of new Federal Trade Commission regulations tightening rules on telemarketing.

Anywhere Real Estate, formerly known as Realogy, expressed relief in a statement, calling the deal consistent with their financial planning. A final settlement hearing is set for February 27.

For now, the case, which began in 2018, looks to be coming to a close with a significant payout, but details on individual claims and legal fees are still pending.

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In a press release last week, Fathom Holdings announced a major update to its business strategy, revealing plans to incorporate Bitcoin (BTC) into its treasury management program and offer Bitcoin payments for agents and customers. The company says it will allocate up to 50% of its excess cash, approximately $500,000, towards Bitcoin purchases in the next two weeks. This decision aims to diversify its holdings, which have traditionally been in U.S. dollars, and position Fathom at the forefront of digital currency in the real estate sector.

Fathom’s leadership, including CFO Joanne Zach and CEO Marco Fregenal, emphasized Bitcoin’s growing role as a decentralized store of value and its potential to streamline real estate transactions. Zach pointed to increasing global capital allocations toward Bitcoin, while Fregenal highlighted its alignment with Fathom’s mission to drive efficiencies in real estate processes through its tech platform, intelliAgent.

However, critics have raised concerns about the volatility of Bitcoin, noting that such a move could expose the company to significant risk. With Bitcoin’s price fluctuations, some argue that the strategy could hurt Fathom if the cryptocurrency market sees sharp downturns. The company’s reliance on Bitcoin could also raise questions about its financial stability, particularly as it seeks to integrate Bitcoin payments into an industry known for its traditional business practices.

Fathom plans to share more details in an upcoming SEC filing, with additional updates expected later this month.

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And finally, Wells Fargo received a boost this week as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, or CFPB, terminated its 2022 consent order against the bank. This order, which had addressed issues related to automobile lending, consumer deposit accounts, and mortgage lending, marks the latest in a series of regulatory wins for the bank.

This is the seventh consent order closed by Wells Fargo regulators since 2019, following years of scrutiny after the 2016 fake-accounts scandal. The move is seen as a significant victory for CEO Charles Scharf, who has worked to clean up the bank’s compliance issues and improve its oversight.

The bank still faces the challenge of lifting a stringent $1.95 trillion asset cap imposed by the Federal Reserve in 2018, which could be removed as early as 2025. But as the bank makes progress on fixing past mistakes, some industry experts are now wondering if Wells Fargo’s reputation with real estate agents will improve.

In recent years, many real estate agents have questioned the validity of Wells Fargo’s mortgage pre-approvals and even advised clients to be cautious about accepting offers tied to the bank. It remains to be seen whether this industry practice will change as the bank continues its regulatory cleanup.

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