Category Archives: Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

CFPB Has No Update on Enforcement Freeze After Not Announcing Enforcement Action in More Than 2 Months

by Jeff Sovern In response to my inquiry, a CFPB representative, Brenda Muniz, informed me today that "There are no updates with respect to the freeze on enforcement actions or the issuance of CIDs," and that the CFPB has not announced an enforcement action since its November 21 announcement about Citibank. Though the Bureau's press […]

Mulvaney Claims He Is Not Trying to Destroy the CFPB (But What Else Would He Say?)

by Jeff Sovern According to Evan Weinberger, writing in Law360: Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney, who is leading the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on a temporary basis despite a court challenge from the bureau's deputy director, insisted Friday that he is not trying to destroy the federal watchdog from within. Mulvaney, who has been […]

Ohio State Representative Jonathan Dever Seen as a Top Candidate for CFPB Director

by Jeff Sovern So reports Ian MacKendry in the American Banker. The article says that Dever's candidacy is being pushed by Rep. Steve Stivers, R-Ohio, a member of the House Financial Services Committee and the National Republican Campaign Committee. As is usual in such matters, no sources are identified, though a couple of administration insiders […]

Mulvaney Does More Damage to the CFPB and Consumer Protection

by Jeff Sovern The drip of bad news for consumer protection continues. Yesterday, the CFPB announced a "Call for Evidence Regarding Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Functions;" Evan Weinberger has more at Law360. Today we learned, as Allison posted, that the Bureau's budgetary request for this quarter is nothing–it will spend down its reserves instead. Allison […]

House Financial Services Committee Hearing on Bill to Sharply Curtail CFPB Authority Over Banks and Credit Unions

by Jeff Sovern Last week, the House Financial Services Committee's Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit held a hearing titled Legislative Proposals for a More Efficient Federal Financial Regulatory Regime: Part III on a variety of bills. One of the bills, H.R. 1264, provides that "Community financial institutions shall be exempt from all rules and regulations issued by the Bureau." […]

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. 

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 […]

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 […]