Bloomberg’s Perry Cooper’s Thorough Report on the Status of Various Arbitration Rules

Here.  Excerpt on the CFPB's proposed arbitration reg: [Ballard Spahr's] Alan S. Kaplinsky told Bloomberg BNA that “it would be bordering on reckless” for CFPB Director Richard Cordray to finalize the rule because of the risk it will be overturned under the [Congressional Review Act].* * * Congressional Republicans will be in lock step against […]

AFR: Sham Poll Tells Lobbyists What They Want to Hear

The Consumer Bankers Association has been touting a poll it commissioned from Morning Consult finding, as the CBA headline put it: Most Votes in Key Battleground States Support Structural Reforms to CFPB. Or, to put it another way, most voters when asked if they prefer a single director or a bipartisan commission, prefer the bipartisan […]

James Kwak on Economism and Arbitration Clauses

Here.  Excerpt: It’s unlikely that anyone actually believes that consumers understand arbitration clauses and take them into account when making buying choices. These arguments aren’t meant to be taken seriously. They are air cover for banking executives who like taking advantage of customers and politicians who want to do favors for the financial lobby. That’s the […]

Massachusetts obtains judgment voiding hundreds of illegal loans to consumers in case against online auto title lender

Hundreds of illegal loans made to Massachusetts consumers by an unlicensed online auto title lender are now void pursuant to a judgment announced today by the Massachusetts Attorney General's office. The company has also been permanently barred from operating in Massachusetts, and liens they placed on vehicles have been dissolved with new titles issued to […]

MIT Technology Review: Google Now Tracks Your Credit Card Purchases and Connects Them to Its Online Profile of You

Here.  This is for offline credit card purchases. Surveillance capitalism indeed. Excerpt: Google’s new ability to match people’s offline credit card purchases to their online lives is a stunning display of surveillance capitalism in action.   The capability, which Google unveiled this week, allows the company to connect the dots between the ads that it […]

My American Banker Op-ed: Would Wells scandal have come to light with a defanged CFPB?

Here.  Excerpt: Wells Fargo’s opening of millions of phony accounts using the names of its customers was perhaps the most significant bank scandal to come to light since the financial crisis. But Hensarling’s Financial Choice Act, which passed the House Financial Services Committee, would have weakened federal regulators’ ability to publicize the scandal and punish […]

Read one non-partisan analysis of Trump’s budget

The non-partisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget has released this analysis of Trump's budget. Listed below are the Committee's five key findings. The first three seek simply to state what the Trump Administration says is coming, including the Administration's predictions of enormous economic and political success. The last two are the Committee's attempts to deal with […]