Author Archives: Jeff Sovern

Pat McCoy on Barriers to Foreclosure Prevention

Patricia A. McCoy of Connecticut has written Barriers to Foreclosure Prevention During the Financial Crisis, forthcoming in 55 Arizona Law Review. Here's the abstract: The number of modifications to distressed residential loans has been subpar to date compared to the number of foreclosures. This raises concerns about the presence of artificial barriers to loan modifications […]

American Banker: How to CFPB-Proof New Financial Products

by Jeff Sovern Here (behind a paywall, unfortunately). But here's the part that's not behind the paywall: To avoid unwanted scrutiny from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and other regulators, banks need to start thinking about "what is fair, not just what is legal," banking attorneys say. And isn't that one of the reasons we […]

Jimenez Paper: Illegality in Consumer Debt Contracts and What to Do About it

Dalie Jimenez of Connecticut has written Illegality in Consumer Debt Contracts and What to Do About it.  Here's the abstract: Many of the contracts for the sale of consumer debts that are publically available contain “quitclaim” language disclaiming all warranties about the underlying debts sold or the information transferred, generally referring to the debts as […]

Zacks Paper on Whether Contract Design Influences Consumer Behavior

Eric A. Zacks of Wayne State has written Shame, Regret, and Contract Design, forthcoming in Marquette Law Review. Here is the abstract: This Article examines whether contract design can influence the post-formation behavior of the party that did not prepare the contract. Repeat players that utilize the same contract for many transactions, as is the […]

An Item on My Wish List

by Jeff Sovern Tonight marks the start of the NFL draft, a time when hope blooms for all fans of an NFL team, because they can always suppose that their team has used the draft to get better–and many teams will.  Many fans create wish lists–what they want for their teams.  In that spirit, I […]

Paper on The Performance of New Private-Label Mortgage Loan Modifications after 2009

Arthur Acoca of Penn's The Wharton School, Ren S. Essene of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Min Hwang of George Washington's Department of Finance, Jacob Liebschutz of Harvard's Government Department, Patricia A. McCoy of Connecticut, Jessica Russell of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and Susan M. Wachter, also of Wharton have written The Performance of […]

House Financial Services Committee Chair Hensarling Blocks Cordray From Testifying About the CFPB

by Jeff Sovern The Wall Street Journal has the story here and the American Banker here (one or both may be behind a paywall). Mr. Hensarling argues that as Cordray has not been confirmed, he is not the lawful head of the bureau and so cannot testify. But he adds in his letter to Mr. […]

David Adam Friedman on Micropaternailism

David Adam Friedman of Willamette has written Micropaternalism, forthcoming in the Tulane Law Review. Here is the abstract:   In this Article, I have created a theory of “micropaternalism” to capture the essence of a unique regulatory dynamic. As I define it, micropaternalism describes when policymakers paternalistically regulate a narrow area, thereby provoking public debate […]