On March 1, 2018, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued its sixth request for information (RFI) since Mick Mulvaney, acting head of the CFPB, began his tenure. This request seeks “comments and information from interested parties on the usefulness of complaint reporting and analysis, as well as specific suggestions or…
On January 25, 2018, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued the final prepaid accounts rule (which we wrote about here and here) under the Electronic Fund Transfer Act (Regulation E) and the Truth in Lending Act (Regulation Z). The final rule, which will now become effective on April 1,…
The Trump Administration-appointed Acting Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”), Mick Mulvaney, recently stated in a memo to his staff that under his leadership, the CFPB would significantly change in its approach to regulation and enforcement. The most concrete example of this thus far is his approach to the payday lending…
On January 31, 2018, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit (D.C. Circuit), sitting en banc, issued its long-awaited decision in PHH Corp. v. CFPB, holding that the provision of the Dodd-Frank Act shielding the single director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) from removal without cause…
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has solicited comments to assist it to revise its current Civil Investigative Demand (CID) process. The “Request for Information Regarding Bureau Civil Investigative Demands and Associated Processes” was published in the Federal Register on January 26, 2018. The CFPB’s power to issue CIDs is derived from…
On January 16 and 17, 2018, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) released two statements signaling that yet more change is on the horizon for the agency. Close on the heels of similar announcements regarding potential changes to its Home Mortgage Disclosure Act and prepaid card rules, the Bureau announced…
On December 21, 2017, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced delays and potential changes to its Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) and pre-paid card regulations. Both sets of regulations have been subject to criticism by industry participants and others. Although lenders will have to comply with the CFPB’s HMDA…
The Congressional Review Act (CRA) provides Congress with oversight over administrative rulemaking, providing it with a veto of sorts over rulemaking with which it disagrees. For an agency rule to become effective, the agency must submit a report to Congress describing the rule. Congress then has 60 days to issue…
On December 5, 2017, the Lower East Side People’s Federal Credit Union filed a lawsuit against President Trump and Mick Mulvaney over Trump’s appointment of Mulvaney as the Acting Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). The case, Lower East Side People’s Federal Credit Union v. Trump, et al., No….
Three months after the U.S. House of Representatives voted on July 25, 2017 to block the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) Arbitration Rule, the U.S. Senate followed suit. On October 24, 2017, the Senate passed a joint resolution previously passed by the House disapproving of the Arbitration Rule with a 51-to-50…
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) released its quarterly report on credit trends for the third quarter of 2017 last week, focusing on trends in the auto lending industry. Auto loans are a key sector in the lending market—approximately100 million auto loans are outstanding, valued at more than $1 trillion….
On October 18, 2017, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) published guidelines for financial institutions to use when authorizing third-party access to consumers’ financial information. These guidelines are targeted at protecting consumers who give their consent to allow other companies to access their account information. Companies—including fintech firms, banks, and…
On October 5, 2017 the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) revealed its final rule regulating payday lending. For the past five years, the CFPB had been doing research and seeking comments from the industry on how to address its concerns with what it calls “lending traps” associated with small-dollar lending….
On September 29, 2017, the United States Chamber of Commerce and various business and financial services groups (collectively, Plaintiffs) filed a complaint for declaratory and injunctive relief in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas, alleging that—for four independent reasons—the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) recently-issued…
On October 4, 2017, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued an interim final rule amending a provision of Regulation X regarding the timing for mortgage servicers to communicate with borrowers about foreclosure prevention alternatives. On the same date, the CFPB also issued a proposed rule regarding timing requirements for…
On July 25, 2017, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to block the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) Arbitration Rule from becoming effective with a vote of 231 to 190. The vote was mostly down party lines and paves the way for the Senate to act to impose its own…
On August 4, 2017, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) published four prototypes of model overdraft disclosure forms the Bureau is testing as part of its broader “Know Before You Owe” efforts. The prototypes are an important indicator that the CFPB is still actively paying attention to issues concerning overdraft…
On July 20, 2017, the CFPB announced that updates to its Spring 2017 rulemaking agenda have been posted online on the Office of Management and Budget’s webpage. The amended agenda highlights both areas of anticipated regulatory focus as well as recent rule changes that the CFPB is already in the process…
As LenderLaw Watch previously reported, on July 10, 2017 the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) released its Arbitration Rule, which blocks the use of mandatory arbitration clauses in consumer financial products and services contracts that prohibit class action lawsuits. On July 19, 2017, the CFPB published this Rule in the Federal Register,…
On June 27, 2017, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) published a state-by-state breakdown of consumer complaints that have been filed with the CFPB. The snapshot—which is contained in the June 2017 edition of the CFPB’s Monthly Complaint Report—compiled data from the CFPB’s Consumer Complaint Database about the number of…