The Trans-Atlantic Consumer Dialogue ("TACD") a coalition of consumer organizations in both Europe and North America, has fired a shot across the bow of both the Obama Administration and the leadership of the EU, warning that "improving trade" through the proposed Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership ("TTIP") should not be a smokescreen for watering down […]
That's the topic of this Dealbook article, which explains that banks have foreclosed on members of the military in violation of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act. Here's an excerpt: The nation’s biggest banks wrongfully foreclosed on more than 700 military members during the housing crisis and seized homes from roughly two dozen other borrowers who […]
Raymond H. Brescia of Albany has written The Community Reinvestment Act: Guilty, but Not as Charged. Here's the abstract: Since its passage in 1977, the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) has charged federal bank regulators with "encourag[ing]" certain financial institutions "to help meet the credit needs of the local communities in which they are chartered consistent […]
Today's Times has an editorial, Bleeding the Borrowers Dry. Here is the final paragraph: A bill pending in the Senate, known as the Safe Lending Act, would require all online lenders to comply with state laws that provide stronger consumer protections than the federal statutes. It would establish once and for all that payday loan […]
by Brian Wolfman Despite the view among some consumers that the airlines are gouging consumers with fees, a recent study shows that fees are a very small part of the overall cost of flying. That may change. This article by Jim Martin explains that the airlines are introducing new fees. Here are some excerpts: Among […]
We've posted many times about the D.C. Circuit's Noel Canning decision, which held that three putative recess appointments made by President Obama to the National Labor Relations Board were not proper recess appointments. Therefore, the court ruled, the appointments were invalid because they did not go through the Constitution's normal appointments process — presidential nomination and […]
The Center for Effective Government (formerly OMB Watch) has created Sequestration Central, a website devoted to providing comprehensive and up-to-date information on the federal government budget sequestration that went into effect today.
by Brian Wolfman The Big Spring suit filed in federal district court in D.C. challenges various provisions of the Dodd-Frank Wall St. reform law, including the legality of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, on separation-of-powers grounds. That suit includes a challenge to Richard Cordray's appointment as CFPB director as an impermissible (non-)recess appointment. We last posted […]
by Brian Wolfman Last month, we posted about a likely settlement between federal regulators and 13 major mortgage servicers — including some of the world's biggerst banks — that would make direct cash distributions to homeowners who lost their homes or went underwater during the financial crisis, in whole or in part because of improper […]
This has been a revealing week for President Obama's two appointees to the Supreme Court, who are becoming two of the strongest voices on the Court. On Monday, Justice Sotomayor made national headlines with her opinion regarding a denial of cert. (beginning at page 13 of this Order List) — though agreeing on procedural grounds […]