Author Archives: Jeff Sovern

Spector, Fajardo, and Sobol: Debt bill hurts consumers

Writing in the Brownsville Herald, consumer law professors Mary Spector (SMU), Genevieve Hebert Fajardo (St. Mary’s) and Neil L. Sobol (Texas A& M) critique the debt collection bill pending in the House, HR 4550, which would exclude from the FDCPA's coverage attorneys to the extent they are engaging in litigation. Excerpt: House Resolution 4550, would […]

CFPB Announces Intention to Engage in a Rulemaking Procedure That “May Reconsider” Payday Rule

by Jeff Sovern Here.  It seems unlikely that the Bureau would go to the trouble of a rulemaking only to ratify the rule. The Bureau had previously stated that it intended to amend the prepay card rule. 

Robocallers Overwhelming FTC and Do-Not-Call List

WaPo has a report, headlined How robo-callers outwitted the government and completely wrecked the Do Not Call list, reporting that the FTC receives 19,000 complaints per day from people on the Do-Not-Call list about robocallers. The FTC not only does not have the resources to do much about it, but when it tries, its efforts are […]

H&R Block Offering Update for its Tax Software at $24.95 But Others Get the Same Software for $9.95

by Jeff Sovern A friend forwarded me the two images below.  My friend, a prior H&R Block customer, received the 2017 software update for $24.95 while his son, who has not used the software in the past, was offered the identical software for $9.95. This type of price discrimination always makes me wonder about whether […]

Trump Administration Seems Likely to Weaken CRA Rules

by Jeff Sovern The WSJ has an interesting story out, Trump Administration Seeks to Change Rules on Bank Lending to the Poor, that reports: Community groups say the law should be expanded in order to bring opportunity to more low-income areas, while banks say they would do a better job of helping these people if the […]

Consumer Advocates Charge Mulvaney’s Freeze on Data Collection is a Ploy to Cripple the CFPB

by jeff Sovern The American Banker has the story, in a report headlined Is CFPB’s data freeze about security or a political ploy? The article quotes Minnesota's Prentiss Cox, as saying "This is a very thinly veiled attempt to shut down fraud enforcement, which is consistent with the not-even-veiled priority agenda item of the congressional Republicans to eviscerate […]

Interim Bank Regulator Norieka: A Swamp Case Study

by Jeff Sovern Last May, President Trump appointed bank lawyer Keith Norieka as interim head of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. Now that the full-time Comptroller has taken office, Norieka is returning to his firm "where he’ll consult large domestic and international banks on precisely the issues handled by the agency he […]

Report that Mulvaney CFPB Stafffer Lobbied Against CFPB Discrimination Protections Before Joining CFPB

The report comes from Allied Progress. Excerpt: Just before the holiday break, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) “Acting Director” Mick Mulvaney announced that several of his senior staff from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) would be taking on leadership roles at the CFPB. That list included his chief of staff Emma Doyle. What […]