In the SF Chronicle. The indefatigable Ted teaches consumer law at Berkeley. Here is his conclusion: So why did Director Cordray [issue the Arbitration Rule despite opposition from the powerful financial lobby]? Maybe he believes that the American people know a sharp practice when they see one, and that they won’t stand for the undoing […]
Category Archives: Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
by Jeff Sovern Yesterday, according to The Hill, Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas, announced that he would seek to block the CFPB's Arbitration Rule using the Congressional Review Act, saying: “The Bureau’s new rule on arbitration clauses ignores the consumer benefits of arbitration and treats Arkansans like helpless children, incapable of making business decisions in […]
by Jeff Sovern Here's what David Lazurus says in his LA Times column, Banks and credit card companies can't try to stop you from joining a class action lawsuit — for now: Consumer advocates — who for months have been gearing up for this fight — tell me they have little doubt the House will […]
by Jeff Sovern Here. Call it a long op-ed or a short magazine article, in The Conversation, a forum for academics writing for the public. I co-authored it with my colleagues Gina Calabrese and Ann Goldweber. It discusses life before the CFPB, what the CFPB has done, and the attacks on the Bureau.
by Jeff Sovern House Financial Services Chair Jeb Hensarling has already called for Congress to invalidate the CFPB arbitration rule by using the Congressional Review Act while the US Chamber of Commerce calls it a "Prime Example of [an] Agency Gone Rogue." Sigh.
by Jeff Sovern As we have reported a number of times, Wells Fargo opened millions of unauthorized accounts over a period of years. Estimates of how many range from two million to 3.5 million. So you might expect many complaints about that to the CFPB complaint database. On the other hand, considerable empirical research shows […]
by Jeff Sovern OIRA is the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (formerly headed by Cass Sunstein). It presides over the issuance of regulations by executive agencies, but not independent agencies (at least, not yet) like the CFPB. President Trump has nominated for its director George Mason Professor Neomi Rao, a former clerk for Justice Thomas and […]
by Jeff Sovern Different, that is, from arbitrations over the unauthorized accounts, about which we have reported (Wells has agreed to set aside its arbitration clause in the unauthorized account dispute and settle the claims in a class action; court approval is pending but seems likely). Ira's piece, titled Courts, Regulators Must Stop Wells Fargo’s […]
by Jeff Sovern Last month, Jeffrey Joseph posted Tyrannical CFPB tarnishes July 4th holiday in The Hill. Well, ok; others have so claimed, including House Financial Services Chair Jeb Hensarling. Joseph is described at the end of the op-ed only as "a business professor at the George Washington University School of Business." I was curious to see what […]