The New York Times reports that Equifax has agreed to a consent order with eight state financial regulators in response to the breach that allowed hackers to steal sensitive personal information on more than 147 million people last year. The order describes specific steps that Equifax must take, including conducting security audits at least once […]
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A new report from the think tank New America finds that basic banking services such as opening and maintaining a checking account can cost substantially more if you are black or Latino. For instance, community banks in predominantly black neighborhoods require an average minimum opening deposit of about $80, compared with about $68 in white […]
The Hill reports that a judge has ordered the Department of Education to stop collecting debts from all students defrauded by the for-profit Corinthian College, which shut down in 2015. "The court ruled in May that the Department of Education had violated privacy laws by using Social Security Administration information to help it determine how […]
In a case brought by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the State of New York, a judge in the Southern District of New York held today that the structure of the CFPB is unconstitutional because it is an independent agency that has substantial executive power and a single director. Judge Loretta Perska further held […]
Verizon, AT&T and Sprint will no longer share customers' location information with several third-party companies who failed to handle the data appropriately, the Washington Post reports. The move follows an investigation by Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) into the commercial relationships between Verizon; a pair of obscure data vendors, LocationSmart and Zumigo; and those companies' corporate customers. "Wyden's investigation found […]
The Wall Street Journal reports that, although bankruptcy judges have in the past refused to consider reducing student loans, some judges are now looking for ways to help people struggling to repay their debt. "Outright cancellations remain rare, but judges said they have other tools at their disposal, including encouraging lawyers to represent borrowers for […]
This article by Michele Lerner discusses the significant impact of a low credit score on the cost of credit (with a focus on home-mortgage credit). So, consumers should remove harmful (and false) information from their credit reports, which are shockingly inaccurate. The FTC says this about how consumers can dispute credit-report errors.
You know that New York has sued Trump's Foundation, and Trump and his kids individually, alleging that the Foundation was little more than a checkbook for payments to not-for-profits from Mr. Trump or the Trump Organization. This resulted in multiple violations of state and federal law because payments were made using Foundation money regardless of […]
Following up on Jeff's post from yesterday, Ben White and Katy O'Donnell at Politico write that Mulvaney OMB associate said to be likely pick to head consumer bureau. Here is an excerpt: President Donald Trump is likely to pick Kathy Kraninger, who works under Mick Mulvaney at the White House budget office, as the next director of the Consumer […]
Politico reports that Joseph Otting, the head of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, a federal agency is responsible for enforcing fair lending laws, refused to say directly that discrimination exists, during questioning at a House Financial Services hearing on Wednesday. Among the laws that the OCC oversees is the Community Reinvestment Act, […]