Seventeen financial services trade groups are calling on the CFPB to abandon its plan to amend rules under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) to vastly expand the scope of the FCRA by redefining what a “consumer report” is and who is a “consumer reporting agency.” As previously reported, while the CFPB touts the proposal as one to cover data brokers, it is much broader than that.… Continue Reading

Acting CFPB Director Russell Vought has temporarily put a halt to virtually all of the agency’s work.

President Trump designated Vought, director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) as acting bureau director Friday night. He replaced Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who had served as acting CFPB director until Vought’s appointment.… Continue Reading

As we previously blogged about, Acting Director Scott Bessent circulated a message throughout the CFPB on February 3 directing “…all employees, contractors, and other personnel of the Bureau:

  • Not to approve or issue any proposed or final rules or formal or informal guidance.
  • To suspend the effective dates of all final rules that have been issued or published but that have not yet become effective.
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House Republicans appear ready to start the Congressional Review Act (CRA) process to attempt to repeal the Biden Administration’s controversial overdraft rule.

The rule is scheduled to go into effect Oct. 1, but Acting CFPB Director Scott Bessent has ordered a halt to all work at the agency, and a suspension of the effective dates for all rules that have not yet taken effect, so it is unclear when the overdraft rule might take effect.… Continue Reading

The CFPB rescinded an advisory opinion that had described how one particular type of “earned wage” product did not involve the offering or extension of “credit” as that term is defined in the Truth in Lending Act and Regulation Z as Rohit Chopra’s term as director was coming to an end.… Continue Reading

Today’s podcast show features a discussion with Julie Andersen Hill about her law review article titled “Regulating Bank Reputation Risk”, 54 GA. L. Rev. 523 (2023). Professor Hill is the Dean and Wyoming Excellence Chair of the University of Wyoming College of Law.

The abstract to Professor Hill’s article does an excellent job of summarizing her thesis:

This Article surveys reputation risk guidance and enforcement efforts.… Continue Reading

Republicans on Capitol Hill are seeking to repeal a section of the Dodd-Frank Act that requires financial institutions to report information contained in loan applications submitted by women-owned, minority-owned and LGBTQI+-owned small businesses.

My bill seeks to eliminate costly regulatory burdens on financial institutions, ensuring greater access to credit for small businesses,” House Small Business Committee Chairman Rep.… Continue Reading

The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has struck down the FTC’s controversial CARS Rule, saying that the commission violated its own procedural rules by failing to issue an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“ANPRM”) before publishing the rule.

“The FTC asserts that even if the Commission was required to publish an ANPRM, its failure to do so was ultimately harmless error,” two of the judges on the three-judge panel wrote.… Continue Reading

Contending that he wants to ensure that the CFPB is in line with Trump Administration policies, acting bureau Director Scott Bessent has reportedly ordered the agency to stop virtually all work.

President Trump designated Bessent, Secretary of the Treasury, to be Acting Director of the agency, after firing Director Rohit Chopra this past weekend.… Continue Reading

On January 30, 2025, the CFPB ordered Wise, an international remittance company, to pay almost $2.5 million in connection with allegations of illegal activities, including advertising inaccurate fees and failing to properly disclose exchange rates and other costs.

Pursuant to the consent order, Wise must pay approximately $450,000 in redress to harmed consumers and pay a $2.025 million civil penalty to the CFPB.… Continue Reading