Here. Non-disparagement clauses are suddenly drawing a lot of attention.
Author Archives: Jeff Sovern
The Bureau's announcement is here. An excerpt: Today the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced it is considering proposing rules that would ban consumer financial companies from using “free pass” arbitration clauses to block consumers from suing in groups to obtain relief. Buried in many contracts for consumer financial products like credit cards and bank […]
Despite complaints from some that Dodd-Frank has led to the closing of community banks, the Wall Street Journal reports something different here. Some excerpts: It's a favorite lament of community banks: The 2010 Dodd-Frank law is squeezing small financial firms and crimping access to credit for Main Street, all in the name of protecting the […]
The late great Jean Braucher and Barak Orbach, both of Arizona, have written Scamming: The Misunderstood Confidence Man, 27 Yale Journal of Law and the Humanities, (2015, Forthcoming). Here's the abstract: Samuel Thompson, the swindler who gave name to confidence men (“con men”) was “a man of genteel appearance,” “ladies’ man,” and gifted with “persuasive powers.” […]
Here, in the Daily Kos. An excerpt: If Spotify does something illegal, no one can ever know that a consumer is challenging it. And then, if an arbitrator did find that Spotify acted illegally (which is asking a lot, since Spotify will pick the private arbitration company that will, in turn, select the arbitrator to hear the […]
Here. Excerpt: We believe that consumers should not be forced into arbitration. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau should use its authority to stop forced arbitration in financial services; it recently announced it's holding a hearing on October 7 in Denver to discuss the topic, and may make an announcement then. Congress should enact legislation to make arbitration voluntary in […]
The story, based on a Fed study, is here. Excerpt: New rules designed to make sure borrowers can repay their mortgages haven’t curtailed the ability to buy a home, a Federal Reserve study says. * * * The Fed study didn’t find any evidence of credit restriction as a result of the rules. For instance, […]
October 7, in Denver. More here. Will the Bureau announce proposed arbitration rules? (HT: Gregory Gauthier)
Thomas A. Durkin, Gregory Elliehausen, both of the Fed, and Todd J. Zywicki of George Mason have written Consumer Credit and the American Economy: An Overview, Forthcoming in the Journal of Law, Economics and Policy, Here is the abstract: This article provides an introduction to a law review symposium by the Journal of Law, Economics, and […]
by Jeff Sovern Here. Some excerpts: First, the attacks: Ben Carson, second only to Donald Trump in Republican presidential polling, has called the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau the "ultimate example of regulatory overreach." Candidate Carly Fiorina, former chief executive of Hewlett-Packard, says the watchdog agency's investigative powers worry her "a whole lot more" than the […]