by Jeff Sovern From time to time, reports appear that Senator Portman is trying to broker a compromise that would permit confirmation of Richard Cordray as CFPB director. And some, including Ballard Spahr's Alan Kaplinsky, have predicted that a compromise will be eventually be reached. I don't have any inside information–it's not as if legislators […]
Author Archives: Jeff Sovern
Congress could still act after Monday to reduce rates retroactively, however. The Wall Street Journal has more here. An excerpt: As of Thursday afternoon, Democratic backers of the one-year freeze of current rates said Majority Leader Harry Reid (D., Nev.) had promised there would be a vote on July 10 on their bill. An aide […]
by Jeff Sovern Former governor, HUD general counsel, and current head of the American Bankers Association Frank Keating has penned an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal (behind paywall) with the headline above. Keating complains that HUD has adopted the disparate impact test for discrimination; that the CFPB's qualified mortgage rule (QM rule) will restrict […]
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 […]
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 […]