by Jeff Sovern It remains unclear whether the House would simply pass the Senate bill (which seems more likely after recent remarks by House Financial Services Chair Hensarling) or whether the two chambers will negotiate changes, but Reuters reports here that House majority leader McCarthy has said the House vote could come this month. The […]
Author Archives: Jeff Sovern
by Jeff Sovern On April 18, the Senate Commerce Committee held a hearing on Robocalls. Among the witnesses was Adrian Abramovich, against whom the FCC has filed a forfeiture proceeding in which it seeks a penalty of $120 million. Abramavich, who testified under subpoena, commented that when he receives robocalls, he declines them or doesn't […]
Alexei Alexandrov, formerly of the CFPB, and Dalié Jiménez of Irvine, Connecticut, and Harvard have written Lessons from Bankruptcy Reform in the Private Student Loan Market, 11 Harvard Law & Policy Review (2017). Here's the abstract: This article explores the effects of the 2005 bankruptcy amendments in the private student loan market. Overall, our findings suggest that […]
The American Banker reports here that House Financial Services Chair Jeb Hensarling may be moving away from insisting on adding to the Senate bill amending Dodd-Frank provisions the House had passed. Hensarling is a key player in the process and so if he goes along with the Senate version, others are likely to agree. Hensarling […]
by Jeff Sovern During his testimony before the House Financial Services Committee, Acting CFPB Director Mulvaney said that he had met with consumer advocates as much as he has met with industry representatives (or something to that effect; I can't remember the exact words). I've seen reports of Mulvaney meeting with industry groups (see here, […]
Dalié Jiménez of Irvine, Connecticut and Harvard has written Ending Perpetual Debts, 55 Houston Law Review (2018). Here is the abstract: Consumer debts in the United States can effectively live (and grow) forever: most statutes of limitations do not extinguish them; they can morph into relatives’ obligations after the debtor’s death; and they sometimes rise from […]
by Jeff Sovern The Hill has the story here. Among the confirmed commissioners is Rohit Chopra, formerly of the Consumer Federation of America and the CFPB, and a strong consumer advocate. The other commissioners would be wise to follow his lead on consumer protection matters.
by Jeff Sovern Earlier this week, Acting BCFP Director John Michael Mulvaney made statements suggesting that he was going to keep complaints to the Bureau secret. Here's the quote, as reported by Rachel Witkowski in The American Banker: “I don’t see anything in here that says I have to make all of this public,” he […]
by Jeff Sovern Acting CFPB Director John Michael Mulvaney, known as "Mick," has been making a big deal about the fact that the name of the CFPB, or Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in the Dodd-Frank Act is the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (or BCFP), even asking that the Associated Press change its stylebook accordingly. […]
By Jeff Sovern During next month’s Teaching Consumer Law Conference, I intend to survey the audience about what topics they would like to have in a consumer law casebook, as part of the process of preparing the fifth edition of our consumer law casebook (with Dee Pridgen and Chris Peterson). I plan to ask whether […]

