The Wall Street Journal reports that, although bankruptcy judges have in the past refused to consider reducing student loans, some judges are now looking for ways to help people struggling to repay their debt. "Outright cancellations remain rare, but judges said they have other tools at their disposal, including encouraging lawyers to represent borrowers for […]
Author Archives: Allison Zieve
Politico reports that Joseph Otting, the head of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, a federal agency is responsible for enforcing fair lending laws, refused to say directly that discrimination exists, during questioning at a House Financial Services hearing on Wednesday. Among the laws that the OCC oversees is the Community Reinvestment Act, […]
Courthouse News reports: Education Secretary Betsy Devos need not provide full debt relief to more than 60,000 defrauded students, but she must stop collecting on their loans, a federal judge said in court Monday. Lawyers for a proposed class of borrowers had asked U.S. Magistrate Judge Sallie Kim to revive an Obama-era policy that promised […]
David Lazarus of the LA Times writes today about the possibility that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will cut off public access to its consumer complaint database. The comment period closed this week on the CFPB's request for comment on possible changes to its complaint system. Meanwhile, "Mick Mulvaney, Trump’s budget chief who’s serving as […]
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's Mick Mulvaney has dismissed the members of the agency’s Consumer Advisory Board. The CFPB's Policy Associate Director for External Affairs informed board members of the decision on a conference call Wednesday. The members were told that their terms were terminated and they were not permitted to reapply. Politico has the story.
The Wall Street Journal reports that Mick Mulvaney at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will lift the freeze on the CFPB’s collection of private consumer data, which helps its examiners oversee financial institutions. The full article is here.
In April, payday lenders sued the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau over the payday lending regulation — a rule that provides borrowers with various protections to avoid the cycle of debt too-often associated with payday lending. Yesterday, in a joint filing, the CFPB and the payday lenders together asked the court to stay the litigation while […]
"Salaried managers and assistant managers at the big-box home improvement retailer are being required to enter binding arbitration agreements under the threat of losing their valuable bonuses, according to a copy of the contract obtained by HuffPost.By signing the contract, managers agree they won’t take Lowe’s to court with any claims or join in class-action […]
AP reports that a federal court in California has ruled that the Education Department violated privacy laws with regard to students defrauded by the Corinthian for-profit college chain. "In a break with Obama administration policy, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos announced in December that some students cheated by the now-defunct schools would only get a part […]
This article from the American Banker discusses Acting Director Mulvaney's intention to re-examine how the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau enforces the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, which prohibits discrimination in lending. "Mulvaney's comments suggest the CFPB may make it harder for protected groups, including minorities and women, to claim they were adversely impacted by discriminatory practices. […]