Will banks bring class actions?

That’s a possibility raised by Alan Kaplinsky in his analysis of the Supreme Court’s universal injunction case, Trump v. CASA, at Ballard Spahr’s Consumer Finance Monitor Blog. Because CASA will make it harder for consumer financial service companies to seek injunctions against CFPB regs, etc., Mr. Kaplinsky suggests they may resort to class actions, though […]

Hypocrisy alert: Critics of CFPB’s so-called lack of accountability prevent CFPB accountability

The Dodd-Frank Act provides that the CFPB “shall” issue a semiannual report on its activities and various other matters and that its director “shall appear before the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Financial Services and the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives […]

CFA releases annual report of top consumer complaints

Consumer Federation of America just released its annual report of consumer complaints submitted to state and local agencies. Auto sales and auto repair issues tops the list for the ninth year in a row, the report said. The Top Ten1. Auto Sales and Repair2. Retail Purchase Issues3. Home Improvement4. Consumer Credit5. Landlord/Tenant Issues6. Frauds and […]

Report finds administration’s consumer protection agenda has already cost Americans at least $18M

Here, from the Consumer Federation of America and Student Borrower Protection Center. The conclusion is based on elimination of fee limits, dropping of enforcement actions, and blocking payments to consumers, among other things.

Kathleen Engel: Here comes the latest race to the bottom in consumer finance

In the American Banker (behind paywall but available on Lexis). The essay is about how the CFPB is repeating the mistakes of the past. Excerpt: The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is systematically removing guardrails designed to prevent abuses in the consumer finance market. With each retreat from its oversight obligations, the CFPB is expanding the opportunities for firms […]

Senate Parliamentarian rules zeroing out CFPB budget cannot be done through reconciliation

According to the parliamentarian, zeroing out the CFPB budget is subject to a filibuster and so requires 60 votes–which the proposal would surely not get. The Senate majority can overrule the parliamentarian, but doing so would diminish the filibuster’s significance and would set a precedent for when Democrats recapture the Senate but lack the 60 […]

Mike Calhoun: Why the Senate should protect funding for the CFPB

In the National Mortgage News (may be behind paywall). Excerpt: Through a law enacted by Congress, the CFPB receives an amount of up to 12% of the Federal Reserve’s inflation adjusted profits in 2009. This new Senate plan would reduce that amount to 0%, completely cutting off money the agency’s dedicated workers used to hold financial […]