Michael Gordon

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A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has unanimously ruled that the CFPB’s funding structure does not violate the Appropriations Clause of the U.S. Constitution.  In its decision, the panel expressly declined to follow the Fifth Circuit panel decision in Community Financial Services Association of America Ltd.… Continue Reading

The CFPB has issued a request for information about business models that collect and sell consumer data, such as data brokers, data aggregators, and platforms.  The RFI is intended to provide the CFPB with insight into the full scope of the data broker industry about which, according to the CFPB, “there is still relatively limited public understanding of their operations and other impacts.” … Continue Reading

Having granted the certiorari petition filed by the CFPB seeking review of the Fifth Circuit panel decision in Community Financial Services Association of America Ltd. v. CFPB, the U.S. Supreme Court has granted the parties’ joint request to extend the time to file the briefs on the merits.  The Fifth Circuit panel held the CFPB’s funding mechanism violates the Appropriations Clause of the U.S.… Continue Reading

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed a petition for certiorari with the U.S. Supreme Court seeking review of the Fifth Circuit’s decision in Jarkesy v. Securities and Exchange Commission, a case with significant implications for the use of administrative law judges (ALJs) by federal agencies, including the CFPB. … Continue Reading

A group of 17 Republican members of the House Financial Services Committee have sent a letter to CFPB Director Chopra regarding the CFPB’s credit card late fees proposal.

The concerns raised by the lawmakers in the letter include the following:

  • Commenting on the CFPB’s failure in 2022 to adjust the Regulation Z late fee safe harbor amounts for inflation, the lawmakers note that the CFPB “has yet to explain or justify why there was not an increase in the most recent annual adjustment announcement –a striking lack of transparency and accountability, and especially so in an era of outsized inflation.”
… Continue Reading

The witnesses have been announced for the hearing on the CFPB to be held on March 9, 2023 by the House Financial Services Committee’s Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Monetary Policy.  They are:

  • Bill Himpler, CEO, American Financial Services Association
  • Brian Johnson, Managing Director, Patomak Global Partners LLC
  • Jessica Thompson, Attorney, Pacific Legal Foundation
  • Devin Watkins, Attorney, Competitive Enterprise Institute
  • Keith Ellison, Attorney General, State of Minnesota

The Committee Memorandum was also released. … Continue Reading

The CFPB has issued a new report ,“Consumer Use of Buy Now, Pay Later: Insights from the CFPB Making Ends Meet Survey,” that looks at the financial profiles of consumers who use buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) products. 

The report uses data from the CFPB’s 2022 Making Ends Meet survey (responses of 2,036 consumers) and the CFPB’s Consumer Credit Panel.  … Continue Reading

On March 9, 2023, the House Financial Services Committee’s Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Monetary Policy will hold a hearing entitled “Consumer Financial Protection Bureau: Ripe for Reform.”  The witnesses for the hearing have not yet been announced.

The hearing will represent the first hearing held by the House Financial Services Committee focused on the CFPB since Republicans took control of the House in January 2023 and Patrick McHenry replaced Maxine Waters as Committee Chair.… Continue Reading

A new CFPB report, “Issue Spotlight: Public Benefits Delivery & Consumer Protection,” looks at what it describes as “the challenges that recipients of public benefits programs offering cash assistance encounter in accessing funds.”  The report focuses on cash assistance provided on prepaid cards because the CFPB has observed “specific recurring issues arising with the provision of benefits by that method.”… Continue Reading

The CFPB has finalized a procedural rule that updates its Rules of Practice for Adjudication Proceedings (Rules of Practice).  The procedural rule was issued in February 2022 and became effective on February 22, 2022, the date of its publication in the Federal Register.  According to the CFPB, because the procedural rule was a rule of agency organization, procedure, and practice, it was exempt from Administrative Procedure Act (APA) notice-and-comment requirements. … Continue Reading