Category Archives: Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

CFPB regs outlawing disparate impact under ECOA are out

Here. New § 1002.6 provides in part: ECOA “does not provide that the ‘effects test’ applies for determining whether there is discrimination in violation of the Act.” The regulation also purports to define discouragement and covers special purpose credit programs. I wonder how long before a court challenge is filed.

Reuters: Trump administration terminated the CFPB’s lease

That’s the report from Douglas Gillison. According to the story, the administration did that in February, the same month in which the administration argued to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals that its decisions concerning the CFPB were not final and so not reviewable. A decision that the Bureau won’t have an office sounds pretty […]

The CFPB’s current proposal to the court is inadequate.

As we noted on April Fool’s Day, the CFPB has proposed to the court a dramatic cut in the CFPB staffing. If only it were in fact an Apri Fool. American Banker’s Kate Berry has more here. Bloomberg’s Evan Weinberger has this paragraph in his story on the proposal: The cuts may still be “draconian,” […]

Trump administration proposes cutting CFPB staff by two-thirds

The proposal is here. It can’t go into effect until the preliminary injunction in the NTEU case is lifted. The administration claims the plan would “allow CFPB to continue meeting its statutory obligations while expanding on the reforms that have dramatically increased its efficiency and stewardship of taxpayer funds, in line with Presidential and Congressional […]

Paper on how consumer protection enforcement is going away

Alisher Juzgenbaye, a Northwestern JD/Ph.D student has written The Vanishing Enforcer: Consumer Protection in an Era of Dual Retrenchment. Here’s the abstract (the paper left out the third source of retrenchment: arbitration clauses): Recent developments, including reductions in the federal workforce, effective suspension of certain enforcement activities, and attempted centralization of independent agency rulemaking in the […]

ProPublica: TransUnion and Experian are providing relief to fewer consumers who complain to Trump’s CFPB than they did for consumers who complained to Biden’s CFPB

Here, by Joel Jacobs. According to the article, “TransUnion’s relief rate, which had remained relatively steady for several years, began plunging in the summer of 2025. By October it was providing relief roughly half as often” and “Experian’s drop was even more dramatic. The company resolved nearly 20% of complaints in consumers’ favor in 2024. […]

Paper defending the CFPB

Amelia O’Rourke-Owens has written Tearing Holes in Consumer Protection, Democracy’s Safety Net. Or: 2-4-6-8, Dodd-Frank is pretty great! 3-5-7-9, policymakers must save the CFPB just in time! Here’s the abstract: Financial protection laws safeguard all individuals regardless of wealth, race, or age. Indeed, they impact nearly every person living in the United States, as it’s impossible […]