Big news: The CFPB today filed the first lawsuit that invokes the agency's authority under the Dodd-Frank Act to police practices that are not just unfair or deceptive, but "abusive." Observers of the agency have been eagerly anticipating the first use of that authority, which is new to the world of consumer law. The Bureau's Action […]
Category Archives: Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
Carter Dougherty of Bloomberg has a must-read story on the practical effects of the constitutional controversy over Rich Cordray's appointment. The D.C. Circuit's ruling in Noel Canning, he reports, "has hampered the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, slowing some enforcement, impeding recruitment of a second-in-command, and delaying joint ventures with the states." Among other things, the Bloomberg […]
Daniel Schwarcz of Minnesota has written Monitoring, Reporting, and Recalling Defective Financial Products, University of Chicago Legal Forum (2013). Here is the abstract: In recent years, innovations in consumer financial protection have drawn heavily from the law governing the safety of tangible products. This short essay, prepared for a symposium entitled "Frontiers of Consumer Protection," […]
Here. An excerpt: As a recess appointee, Cordray can stay in the job only through the end of this year. But even that timetable will likely not be of much significance. After Cordray departs, the agency will be run by the next in line and there is little reason to think the bureau’s agenda would […]
by Deepak Gupta A divided panel of the Third Circuit today joined the D.C. Circuit in holding that President Obama's recess appointments to the NLRB are unconstitutional. The case is NLRB v. New Visa Nursing and Rehabilitation. From the majority opinion by Judge Smith, who is joined by Judge Van Antwerpen: The central question in […]
Brian posted in April on the CFPB's White Paper on payday lending. Payday lenders have fired back, as the American Banker reports here.
Overdraft fees and abuses have spiraled out of control, snaring millions of consumers while generating billions in profits for banks. A new white paper by the National Consumer Law Center explains the legal avenues the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) can use to restore the standard of “reasonableness” to overdraft fees.
by Jeff Sovern Here (behind a paywall, unfortunately). But here's the part that's not behind the paywall: To avoid unwanted scrutiny from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and other regulators, banks need to start thinking about "what is fair, not just what is legal," banking attorneys say. And isn't that one of the reasons we […]
by Deepak Gupta Earlier today, Solicitor General Don Verrilli filed the government's petition to the Supreme Court, challenging the D.C. Circuit's Noel Canning decision. (Background: There's been a lot of blogging here about Noel Canning, which invalidated President Obama's intersession recess appointments to the National Labor Relations Board and thereby threatened the validity of his simultaneous […]
by Jeff Sovern Tonight marks the start of the NFL draft, a time when hope blooms for all fans of an NFL team, because they can always suppose that their team has used the draft to get better–and many teams will. Many fans create wish lists–what they want for their teams. In that spirit, I […]

