Category Archives: Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

LA Times: Obama’s consumer protection legacy defined by aggressive agency

Here.  Here's the beginning of the piece: Bill Doak and his wife, Linda, were preparing to buy a new house this spring when a mortgage broker made an ominous declaration after scanning their credit report: “Oh my God, you’re in trouble.” The couple discovered five late payments on the loan on the home they were selling in […]

RollCall: Wall Street Eyes Dodd-Frank Changes in Spending Bill

by Jeff Sovern Here.  Excerpt: The draft bill approved by the House Appropriations Financial Services Subcommittee on Wednesday included a provision that would change the CFPB from a director-led agency to a bipartisan commission, as well as language that would make funding for the bureau subject to the annual appropriations process. Both measures largely pit […]

House Continues War on Consumer Protection

by Jeff Sovern The House Committee on Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services has released the draft of a bill it is considering that would hamstring the CFPB and at least temporarily preserve pre-dispute arbitration clauses, among other things. Here is how the Subcommittee describes the CFPB portion of the bill: The bill includes a provision […]

ALTA Survey Finds Increase in Consumer Review of Mortgage Disclosures Under New TRID (TILA/RESPA) Disclosures

by Jeff Sovern A press release is here. ALTA is the American Land Title Association. I haven't read the study (I couldn't find the actual report of the study on the web site), but it reports an increase in consumers who read the mortgage disclosures from 74% to 92% since the TRID disclosures went into effect. The […]

Chris Peterson Article on CFPB Enforcement

Christopher Lewis Peterson of Utah has written Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Law Enforcement: An Empirical Review, forthcoming in the Tulane Law Review. Here's the abstract: In the aftermath of the U.S. financial crisis, Congress created a new federal agency — the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) — with the goal of fashioning a more just […]

Politico: Uncovering the ‘astroturf’ firm behind the CFPB attack ads

Here. Excerpt: The campaign is being run by Lincoln Strategy Group, a political consulting firm Tempe, Ariz. Its founder, Nathan Sproul, has been linked to several instances of suspected voter fraud and barred from Republican Party contracts. The company also worked with Steve Gates, the only person previously identified with Protect America's Consumers, on the […]

More Witnesses for House Arbitration Hearing Announced

The added witnesses are Jason S. Johnston of Virginia School of Law and Dong Hong, VP and Regulatory Counsel, Consumer Bankers Association. A link to Johnston's article on class actions is included in the post just below this one.  Johnston has previously criticized the Bureau's arbitration report and the Dodd-Frank mortgage restrictions. Neither witness seems likely to […]