The American Banker recently published a story, Courthouse 'Rocket Dockets' Give Debt Collectors Edge Over Debtors, about how consumers feel pressured to settle debt cases after receiving summonses to courthouse settlement conferences with debt collectors. An excerpt: At first glance these sessions resemble legally mandated mediation: they take place in courtrooms and are administered by […]
We've discussed before the case against Facebook's Sponsored Stories program, which resulted in a settlement to which Public Citizen objected on behalf of a group of parents from around the country. See here for a description of our objections and the settlement. Chief among the settlement's flaws is that it allows Facebook to continue to […]
"Welcome to the new-and-not-so-improved world of payday lending, which has adopted more sophisticated sales pitches and branding to lure unwary consumers into loans that can trap them in endless cycles of debt," writes the Times. So what's the alternative? The U.S. post office has an idea: "Have post offices partner with banks to offer basic […]
by Jeff Sovern The Wall Street Journal has the story here. The bill would allow other federal agencies to veto Bureau rules more easily. It is hard to imagine the bill passing the Senate or being signed into law by the president. Meanwhile, the article points out, the clock is ticking on the debt ceiling.
by Brian Wolfman Remember JP Morgan Chase's agreement with the federal government to pay $13 billion to settle claims that it knowingly sold faulty mortgage securities that contributed to the financial crisis? For a refresher, go here and here. Now, the non-profit group Better Markets — whose tagline says it is a "nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that […]
On this blog and elsewhere, some posters have questioned the effectiveness of disclosure as a form of consumer protection. But disclosure remains an important feature of consumer financial protection statutes (RESPA and TILA are good examples), and many regulators think it is an important, if not the only, part of an overall regulatory strategy. With […]
Jihad Dagher and Yangfan Sun, both of the International Monetary Fund, have written Borrower Protection and the Supply of Credit: Evidence from Foreclosure Laws. Here's the abstract: Laws governing the foreclosure process, which vary across jurisdictions, have direct consequences on creditors’ losses from borrower default, and thus, could potentially affect lending decisions. Our empirical strategy […]
More than one third of the states have removed criminal penalties for the use of medical marijuana, which be can a uniquely effective treatment for a number of serious medical conditions. (For one powerful example, see this story about a cancer patient who is a former client of mine.) Of course, because of the federal […]
by Ed Mierzwinski (guest post) I testified Monday at a Senate Banking hearing on the Target breach. The chair of the subcommittee, Mark Warner, indicated support for the longtime consumer-group position that consumer debit-card liability should be made equal to the far more more consumer-friendly credit-card liability. My own blog post has more. My testimony […]