Category Archives: Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

AmBanker: CFPB faces Catch-22 on pending arbitration rule

Here (behind paywall). Excerpt: "* * * Director Cordray has been reluctant to issue a final arbitration rule, is because I think he realizes that there is a very high likelihood of it being overridden," said Alan Kaplinsky, a partner at the law firm Ballard Spahr. * * * It's also not a guarantee that […]

CFPB Critics Make Unpersuasive Arguments that Business as Usual at the CFPB Is Not Good for Consumers

by Jeff Sovern At Real Clear Politics, by George Masonites Hester Pierce and Vera Soliman.  The arguments (with my editorializing on some points) are that the Bureau's payday lending rule would put some such lenders out of business (would those be the lenders that ensnare consumers in a never-ending debt trap?), that the Bureau collects […]

Hensarling Uses Words “Tyranny,” “Dictator” in Discussing CFPB

by Jeff Sovern In the Dallas Morning News. Here are some more quotes from the article: Hensarling bemoaned that the bureau gets to be a "cop on a beat, a judge and its own Congress." * * * He said the bureau has led to higher bank fees, fewer banking options and more difficulty in […]

LA Times’s David Lazarus: Republicans make killing consumer protections a top priority

Here.  Excerpt: I asked [the] office [of Rep. John Ratcliffe, who has proposed to abolish the CFPB] to elaborate [on his claim that the CFPB hurts consumers]. I received a statement from Ratcliffe citing the group’s “qualified mortgage rule,” which he said “has made it harder for young people and retirees on fixed incomes to be […]

WSJ: Trump Believes Consumer-Watchdog Agency ‘Unaccountable’: Spokesperson

Here (behind paywall). The article reports on an email from an unidentified Trump spokesperson. Excerpt: “The President believes that the initial decision made by the three judge panel of the DC circuit was correct,” the spokesperson said in an emailed statement. “The structure of the CFPB makes it unaccountable to the American people.”  The statement […]

The Hill: GOP senators unveil bill to give Congress control of consumer bureau budget

Here.  Excerpt: More than a dozen Republican senators are backing a bill to give Congress greater control and oversight of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). Sen. David Perdue (R-Ga.) will introduce a bill Wednesday to let Congress control the CFPB’s budget, his office told The Hill on Wednesday. Called the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau […]

Ratcliffe/Cruz Bill Would Eliminate the CFPB

by Jeff Sovern Here is the full text of the House bill: The Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 is hereby repealed and the provisions of law amended or repealed by such Act are restored or revived as if such Act had not been enacted. The Senate bill is here.  At least it has the […]

At Credit Slips, Adam Levitin on Jeb Hensarling’s Alternative CFPB Facts

Our regular readers probably also check in with Credit Slips, but in case anyone doesn't, Georgetown's Adam Levitin has a pair of posts that merit attention. First, he fact-checks a recent Jeb Hensarling WSJ op-ed about the CFPB, and then he seeks comment on this question: What Would a CFPB Commission Have Done Differently?

Brooklyn’s David Reiss in Law360: A “Justice Gorsuch is likely to vote to strongly curtail the independence of the [CFPB]”

Here (behind paywall). Excerpt: [I]f he hears an appeal from PHH v. CFPB, he will likely be sympathetic to PHH’s positions, both in terms of the unconstitutionality of the CFPB’s structure and in terms of the reach of its enforcement powers.

House Bill Would Have Helped Wells Fargo Get Away With Its Scam: Make Wells Safe Again

by Jeff Sovern As we have discussed extensively, Wells Fargo opened millions of sham accounts in its customers' names. The CFPB responded by fining Wells $100 million.  But under Financial Services Chair Jeb Hensarling's proposed Financial Choice Act 2 bill, the CFPB would have been powerless to do anything about Wells's scam. That's because, according […]