WSJ Op-Ed: Regulators Have Created a Mortgage Minefield

by Jeff Sovern Former governor, HUD general counsel, and current head of the American Bankers Association Frank Keating has penned an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal (behind paywall) with the headline above.  Keating complains that HUD has adopted the disparate impact test for discrimination; that the CFPB's qualified mortgage rule (QM rule) will restrict […]

Guest post: More on so-called “deposit advance” lending

Guest post from Gary Kalman, EVP, Center for Responsible Lending Earlier this week, Professor Jeff Sovern posted a piece here questioning whether banks should get out of the “deposit advance” lending business—i.e., payday lending.  We appreciate his comments, but loan sharking is loan sharking.  Banks are pushing triple-digit interest loans that are structured to create […]

CFPB orders U.S. Bank to stop misleading loan practices aimed at active-duty military and to refund undislosed fees

Our readers may be interested in hearing about what the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is doing on the enforcement front. Today, the agency issued a press release concerning consent orders against U.S. Bank and one of its affiliates: Today the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)ordered U.S. Bank and one of its nonbank partner companies, Dealers’ […]

Searching for Relief — Desperate Borrowers and the Growing Student Loan ‘Debt Relief’ Industry

That's the name of this new study by Deanne Loonin and Jillian McLaughlin of the National Consumer Law Center. They explain that A student loan "debt relief" industry has sprung up in response to the demand for student loan borrower assistance and this report documents multiple problems as well as potential violations of consumer federal […]

Politico on the CFPB After Cordray

Here. Cordray's recess appointment expires in December. What happens then?  Under Dodd-Frank, Cordray's deputy takes over as acting director. Right now, Steve Antonakes is the acting deputy. But some of those who argue Cordray's appointment is invalid claim also that his naming Antonakes as acting deputy is invalid.  Of course, the Supreme Court may rule that […]

New Book Describes the Creation of the CFPB

by Jeff Sovern Here's the blurb I provided: "Powerful interest groups seldom lose major battles in Congress, but that is exactly what happened when Congress created the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in 2010. Larry Kirsch and Robert N. Mayer have produced, in Financial Justice: The People's Campaign to Stop Lender Abuse, an eminently readable and […]

American Banker: Supreme Court Case May Have Big Impact on CFPB

Here (but behind a paywall).  Among the points made in the article are that the recess appointment of current CFPB Director Richard Cordray is likely to expire before the Supreme Court rules and that banks could be hurt if Cordray's appointment is ruled unconstitutional because that would leave banks subject to the Bureau but not […]

DC Circuit Affirms Dismissal of Anti-SLAPP Motion in Sherrod v. Breitbart

by Paul Alan Levy In a relatively brief opinion issued this morning, the DC Circuit has affirmed the trial court's refusal to strike Shirley Sherrod's libel action against bloggers Breitbart nd O'Connor, but on the narrowest possible ground that should not have any adverse long-term impact on future anti-SLAPP motions.  After canvassing the way in […]

Will Banks Get Out of the Deposit Advance Loan Business? If So, Is That Desirable?

by Jeff Sovern Deposit advance loans are banks' answer to payday loans.   Just like payday loans, they tend to be for short periods and high interest rates.  And just as with payday loans, consumer advocates fear that consumers get trapped in them, in the sense that many borrowers can't come up with the money to […]