Nathalie Martin of New Mexico has written Giving Credit Where Credit is Due: What We Can Learn from the Banking and Credit Habits of Undocumented Immigrants. Here's the abstract: Undocumented immigrants currently make up more than 5% of the U.S. labor force and 7% of school-age children. Numbering over eleven million, undocumented immigrants unquestionably comprise […]
Author Archives: Jeff Sovern
Shauhin A. Talesh of Irvine has written Institutional and Political Sources of Legislative Change: Explaining How Private Organizations Influence the Form and Content of Consumer Protection Legislation, 39 Law and Social Inquiry 973 (2014 ). Here's the abstract: This article explores how private organizations influence the content and meaning of consumer protection legislation. I examine […]
Max N. Helveston of DePaul has written Judicial Deregulation of Consumer Markets, forthcoming in the Cardozo Law Review. Here's the abstract: The dangers posed by insufficiently regulated consumer markets are both real and monumental. While the rights of consumers expanded drastically in the mid-to-late twentieth century, these protections have weakened in the new millennium. […]
by Jeff Sovern Last Friday, I posted a comment on Alan Kaplinsky’s remarks, quoted in the Bloomberg Business story, Bank Customers May Get Their Day in Court, about the CFPB arbitration report. Alan replied in a post captioned “Sovern v. Kaplinsky.” Here I offer a rebuttal. In my original post, I expressed the view that […]
by Jeff Sovern Not that I need one, but my question is prompted by my expectation that during the Consumer Financial Protection Bureaus's field hearing today on payday lending, the Bureau will propose new restrictions on payday lending. Critics may claim that the restrictions will drive consumers to loan sharks. For a past example of […]
by Jeff Sovern According to ThinkAdvisor, Georgia Senator David Perdue has introduced an amendment that would subject the CFPB to the congressional appropriations process. Calling the Bureau "reckless," Perdue added "the CFPB is a rogue agency that dishes out malicious financial policy and creates new rules and regulations without any oversight from Congress. As seems […]
The CFPB arbitration report found that class actions can return significant sums to consumers. Adding to the literature on that topic, Brian T. Fitzpatrick of Vanderbilt and Robert C. Gilbert have written An Empirical Look at Compensation in Consumer Class Actions. Here is the abstract: Consumer class actions are under broad attack for providing little in […]
by Jeff Sovern Here we go again. The Republicans have repeatedly tried to convert the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to a commission structure. The latest effort, H.R. 1266, is sponsored by Representative Randy Neugebauer of Texas. The bill would replace the CFPB's director with a five-member commission, of whom no more than three could be […]
by Jeff Sovern BloombergBusiness columnist Carter Dougherty has a story, Bank Customers May Get Their Day in Court, about the CFPB arbitration report. Dougherty writes: In its report, the CFPB noted that there were just 52 arbitration claims under $1,000 in 2010 and 2011, and consumers won relief in just four of them. Says [Deepak] […]