Here. Cordray's recess appointment expires in December. What happens then? Under Dodd-Frank, Cordray's deputy takes over as acting director. Right now, Steve Antonakes is the acting deputy. But some of those who argue Cordray's appointment is invalid claim also that his naming Antonakes as acting deputy is invalid. Of course, the Supreme Court may rule that […]
Author Archives: Jeff Sovern
by Jeff Sovern Here's the blurb I provided: "Powerful interest groups seldom lose major battles in Congress, but that is exactly what happened when Congress created the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in 2010. Larry Kirsch and Robert N. Mayer have produced, in Financial Justice: The People's Campaign to Stop Lender Abuse, an eminently readable and […]
Here (but behind a paywall). Among the points made in the article are that the recess appointment of current CFPB Director Richard Cordray is likely to expire before the Supreme Court rules and that banks could be hurt if Cordray's appointment is ruled unconstitutional because that would leave banks subject to the Bureau but not […]
by Jeff Sovern Deposit advance loans are banks' answer to payday loans. Just like payday loans, they tend to be for short periods and high interest rates. And just as with payday loans, consumer advocates fear that consumers get trapped in them, in the sense that many borrowers can't come up with the money to […]
So says Paul Bland in a persuasive blog post.
by Jeff Sovern Yesterday, the House Financial Services Committee held a hearing titled CFPB Budget Review. You can listen to the webcast here. It seems to be part of the continuing Republican attack on the Bureau. The American Banker reported on the hearing here (behind a paywall). The article points out that Republicans were criticial […]
by Jeff Sovern The Supreme Court today granted cert in Mount Holly v. Mount Holly Gardens Citizens in Action, which raises the issue of whether courts can use the disparate impact test in federal Fair Housing Act (FHA) cases. Because the language of the FHA is similar to that of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act […]
From Dee Pridgen: The Wyoming State Attorney General’s office recently completed its first major in-state enforcement action in recent history against the Sharps Rifle Company. The company was manufacturing a collector's item replica pistol. Sharps took deposits and payments from customers for the pistols, but never delivered the product due to technical difficulties in the […]
Here. The story is about how car makers are using arbitration clauses to defeat consumer protections, including state lemon laws, and keep defects secret.