Here. Excerpt: A Senate GOP aide said that supporters of the resolution do not have the votes needed to proceed on the floor, given the absence of Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), who has returned to Arizona to receive medical treatment for brain cancer. A July 28 statement from McCain’s office said he does not plan […]
by Jeff Sovern Results from WalletHub. Some other findings: More than half think banks and credit bureaus need more regulation while 71% think consumers need more financial protection 92% know CFPB stands for Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and 49% would turn to the CFPB if they had a serious complaint about a bank, compared to 9% […]
The New York Times reports that the Food and Drug Administration has warned Congress that it is frequently finding contamination, illegal ingredients and other problems in the soaring quantities of imported cosmetics, and that it has limited resources to inspect the shipments. The warning was part of a letter sent in late June to a […]
by Jeff Sovern Here. My favorite sentence points out that in an average year, "[a]t least 6,800,000 consumers get cash relief in class actions—compared with just 16 consumers who receive cash relief in arbitration, according to available data." Here is a longer excerpt: Opponents of the rule have suggested that the bureau’s own findings show consumers […]
by Jeff Sovern The Hill reports that Hensarling has demanded an investigation into whether Cordray violated election law. This follows the Financial Services Committee (chaired by Hensarling) staff report saying the Committee should consider holding Cordray in contempt (a story on the CFPB reply is here). And if you listen to the Committee's hearings during which […]
by Jeff Sovern Last week, Gretchen Morgenson at the Times broke the story of how hundreds of thousands of auto loan borrowers at Wells Fargo had been charged for car insurance they didn't need. Now Kate Berry at the American Banker reports on the arbitration connection: it turns out that many of the contracts provide […]
by Jeff Sovern Here. Biden's Briefing is a podcast which plays "[w]hat Joe wants you to know. Every day, Vice President Joe Biden looks to the news across the nation that's sparking conversation, sharing the articles and opinions that he's reading and might be of interest to you." For today's episode, he chose the essay […]
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau today issued a bulletin warning companies about tricking consumers into expensive pay-by-phone fees. The CFPB is concerned about companies potentially misleading consumers about the purpose and amount of certain pay-by-phone fees or keeping them in the dark about much cheaper payment options. The bulletin also reviews guidelines to help consumer […]
by Jeff Sovern Law360's Evan Weinberger has the story here. The rule still could be blocked by Congress under the Congressional Review Act or in the courts. One down, two to go.
by Jeff Sovern Republican pollster Robert Carpenter has written Republicans beware: Your voters like tough rules on Wall Street in the Washington Examiner. Excerpt: Republicans do the bidding of Wall Street at their own peril. That is the message of a new poll that I helped conduct around financial reform and consumer protection last month […]