Author Archives: Jeff Sovern

The Hill: GOP senators unveil bill to give Congress control of consumer bureau budget

Here.  Excerpt: More than a dozen Republican senators are backing a bill to give Congress greater control and oversight of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). Sen. David Perdue (R-Ga.) will introduce a bill Wednesday to let Congress control the CFPB’s budget, his office told The Hill on Wednesday. Called the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau […]

Ratcliffe/Cruz Bill Would Eliminate the CFPB

by Jeff Sovern Here is the full text of the House bill: The Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 is hereby repealed and the provisions of law amended or repealed by such Act are restored or revived as if such Act had not been enacted. The Senate bill is here.  At least it has the […]

At Credit Slips, Adam Levitin on Jeb Hensarling’s Alternative CFPB Facts

Our regular readers probably also check in with Credit Slips, but in case anyone doesn't, Georgetown's Adam Levitin has a pair of posts that merit attention. First, he fact-checks a recent Jeb Hensarling WSJ op-ed about the CFPB, and then he seeks comment on this question: What Would a CFPB Commission Have Done Differently?

Reuters’ Alison Frankel on “House Republicans’ bill to gut class actions”

Here.  Markup on the bills is schedule for tomorrow.  Excerpt from Frankel's piece: The bill would limit class certification to class actions in which plaintiffs all “suffered the same type and scope of injury” and would bar certification unless courts can ascertain class membership and assure that only injured plaintiffs recover. Class action lawyers would […]

Brooklyn’s David Reiss in Law360: A “Justice Gorsuch is likely to vote to strongly curtail the independence of the [CFPB]”

Here (behind paywall). Excerpt: [I]f he hears an appeal from PHH v. CFPB, he will likely be sympathetic to PHH’s positions, both in terms of the unconstitutionality of the CFPB’s structure and in terms of the reach of its enforcement powers.

Another Argument Against Free Market Economics in Consumer Protection: James Kwak’s Economism

by Jeff Sovern For years, fans of economics have attempted to convert judges and lawyers to their mode of analyzing legal problems.  For example, George Mason's Scalia Law School's Law & Economics Center has offered programs for judges for nearly four decades, and thus far has attracted more than 4,000 judges to its programs. It […]

House Bill Would Have Helped Wells Fargo Get Away With Its Scam: Make Wells Safe Again

by Jeff Sovern As we have discussed extensively, Wells Fargo opened millions of sham accounts in its customers' names. The CFPB responded by fining Wells $100 million.  But under Financial Services Chair Jeb Hensarling's proposed Financial Choice Act 2 bill, the CFPB would have been powerless to do anything about Wells's scam. That's because, according […]

Dallas Morning News: Agency That Protects Consumers from Financial Scamers in Trouble Under Trump

by Jeff Sovern Here. Excerpt: I talked to [Jim] Purcell [of State National Bank in Big Spring] this week. He says the bureau spreads its tentacles too far. He complains that there's no appeal for the bureau's decisions, that it's too independent of Congress and the president (by design, and for obvious reasons, I might […]

Will Congress Silence Complaining Consumers?

by Jeff Sovern On Tuesday, as widely reported, the Senate silenced Senator Elizabeth Warren.  Now House Financial Services Chair Jeb Hensarling wants to silence complaining consumers by eliminating the ability of Senator Warren's creation, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, to operate a consumer complaint database. The Dodd-Frank Act, in 12 U.S.C. § 5511, provides that: […]

Hensarling Said to Abandon Commission Model for CFPB in Favor of Director Reporting to the President

The WSJ has a report here (behind paywall).  In the next version of the Financial Choice Act, House Financial Services Chair Jeb Hensarling is also reported to be considering eliminating the Bureau's supervisory authority, power to regulate payday lending, consumer complaint database and its research and consumer education functions.  The goal appears to be to […]