by Jeff Sovern Not that I need one, but my question is prompted by my expectation that during the Consumer Financial Protection Bureaus's field hearing today on payday lending, the Bureau will propose new restrictions on payday lending. Critics may claim that the restrictions will drive consumers to loan sharks. For a past example of […]
Two weeks ago, we flagged an NPR piece about the dangers of transporting oil by rail. Very glad to see that we're not the only ones concerned. Today, Sen. Maria Cantwell of Washington will introduce federal legislation to prevent oil train disasters. From the Public Citizen release on the bill: The U.S. Department of Transportation […]
Commentator Nicholas Kristof has never been a fan of unions, but in this New York Times op-ed, he explains, he’s changed his mind about them. Why? In Kristof’s words: I’m as appalled as anyone by silly work rules and $400,000 [salaries for] stagehands [at Carnegie Hall], or teachers’ unions shielding the incompetent. But unions also […]
Last week the Department of Health and Human Services (which includes the Food and Drug Administration) announced it would curtail the controversial practice of including "lost pleasure" as a "cost" of health regulations when it does a cost/benefit analysis of the regulations. Including "lost pleasure" in the analysis artificially reduced the projected health benefits of […]
by Jeff Sovern According to ThinkAdvisor, Georgia Senator David Perdue has introduced an amendment that would subject the CFPB to the congressional appropriations process. Calling the Bureau "reckless," Perdue added "the CFPB is a rogue agency that dishes out malicious financial policy and creates new rules and regulations without any oversight from Congress. As seems […]
Last month, we told you about the CFPB's settlement with Corinthian Colleges over its debt-collection practices and advertising practices, among other things. Last week, NPR's "Here and Now" reported on a debt strike by fifteen students of Corinthian Colleges who are refusing to pay back their federal student loans because of Corinthian's misleading advertising about […]
The CFPB arbitration report found that class actions can return significant sums to consumers. Adding to the literature on that topic, Brian T. Fitzpatrick of Vanderbilt and Robert C. Gilbert have written An Empirical Look at Compensation in Consumer Class Actions. Here is the abstract: Consumer class actions are under broad attack for providing little in […]
by Jeff Sovern Here we go again. The Republicans have repeatedly tried to convert the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to a commission structure. The latest effort, H.R. 1266, is sponsored by Representative Randy Neugebauer of Texas. The bill would replace the CFPB's director with a five-member commission, of whom no more than three could be […]
by Jeff Sovern BloombergBusiness columnist Carter Dougherty has a story, Bank Customers May Get Their Day in Court, about the CFPB arbitration report. Dougherty writes: In its report, the CFPB noted that there were just 52 arbitration claims under $1,000 in 2010 and 2011, and consumers won relief in just four of them. Says [Deepak] […]
The agency announced yesterday that it would enable consumers to share their issues regarding financial products and services directly with the public, via the CFPB's Consumer Complaint Database. The database has accepted complaints for almost three years, but under the new policy, consumers who submit to the database will have the option to share their […]