Author Archives: Jeff Sovern

Mortgage Closing Delays Based on TRID Rule Evaporate

According to a report in HousingWire, Is TRID hysteria over? Time to close drops to 12-month low, the new TILA/RESPA closing disclosures are not delaying mortgage closings.  The story explains "lenders now have this whole TRID thing figured out, as the time to close a loan fell to a 12-month low in March." The TRID […]

More on the Senate Banking Committee Hearing

by Jeff Sovern Yesterday I posted about Senator Elizabeth Warren's takedown of Leonard Chanin, formerly of the Fed and the CFPB, now of MoFo, at a Senate Banking Committee hearing. I have since finished listening to the hearing and wanted to say a few more things. First, at the conclusion of the hearing. the Committee's chair, Republican […]

Elizabeth Warren’s Devastating Cross-Examination of Leonard Chanin at the Senate Banking Committee Hearing

by Jeff Sovern On April 5, the Senate Banking Committee held a hearing titled Assessing the Effects of Consumer Finance Regulations.  I've been listening to the hearing, which has three witnesses–selected by the GOP majority–who spent much of their time attacking the CFPB, and one witness- chosen by the Democratic minority– who supported the CFPB.  […]

Christopher Article on Mobile Banking and the Unbanked

Catherine Martin Christopher of Texas Tech has written Mobile Banking: The Answer for the Unbanked in America? 65 Catholic University Law Review, (2015 ).  Here is the abstract: In the U.S., the poor often lack access to mainstream banking services. Instead, they rely on expensive, poorly regulated alternatives like check cashers, payday lenders, pawn shops, and […]

Center for Responsible Lending Study Finds MD and NC Collection Reforms Didn’t Impair Consumer Credit

Here.  Here is the Executive Summary: Debt buyers, specialized debt-collection companies, purchase defaulted consumer debt from creditors such as credit card companies for pennies on the dollar. Debt buyers then attempt to collect the debt, often by suing borrowers in court. Unfortunately, because debts are typically sold to debt buyers without fully verifying the accuracy […]

Business Lawyer Survey of Consumer Auto Finance Developments

Kevin M. McDonald of VW Credit Inc., and Kenneth J. Rojc of Nisen & Elliott, LLC have written the Business Lawyer's annual survey of consumer auto finance developments, this year called Automotive Finance: The Regulatory Cup Spilleth Over.  Here is the abstract: Almost every aspect of the life cycle of retail contract and lease transactions, […]

Marotta-Wurgler Surveys Privacy Policies

Florencia Marotta-Wurgler of NYU has written Understanding Privacy Policies: Content, Self-Regulation, and Markets. Here is the abstract: The current regulatory approach to consumer information privacy is based on a “notice and choice” self-regulation model, but commentators disagree on its impact. I conduct a comprehensive empirical analysis of 261 privacy policies across seven markets and measure […]