“Nature abhors a vacuum.” — Aristotle

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s dramatic retreat from enforcement during 2025 and 2026 has created one of the most significant shifts in consumer financial services regulation since the Bureau opened its doors in 2011.

Much has been written about what the CFPB is no longer doing.… Continue Reading

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has released its Semiannual Regulatory Agenda covering the period from January 2026 through November 2026. Published through the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) as part of the Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions, the agenda provides an important roadmap of the Bureau’s anticipated regulatory activity during the remainder of the year.… Continue Reading

The CFPB recently issued a request for information (RFI) on the Truth in Lending Act (TILA)/Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) Integrated Disclosure (TRID) rule, the right of rescission under TILA, and reverse mortgages. Comments are due by August 10, 2026.

The RFI is based on the March 2026 Executive Order (EO) 14393 entitled “Promoting Access to Mortgage Credit”.… Continue Reading

Although the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau under Acting Director Russell Vought has withdrawn from defending a number of Biden-era regulatory initiatives, the Bureau appears poised to revisit one of the most controversial issues in consumer credit regulation—credit card late fees.

According to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), the CFPB has submitted for interagency review a Request for Information (RFI) regarding “Credit Card Late Fees and Late Payments.”… Continue Reading

The CFPB has rescinded a December 2020 advisory opinion that addressed Special Purpose Credit Programs (SPCP) offered by for-profit entities that use the common characteristics of race, color, national origin, or sex, or any combination thereof, as eligibility criteria. The advisory opinion had addressed the content of the written plan that would have been required for the SPCP and the data that could have been used to support a determination that the SPCP was necessary because people sharing those characteristics probably would not have received credit or would have received it on less favorable terms than those ordinarily available to other applicants. … Continue Reading

As expected, advocacy groups and private companies have filed a lawsuit challenging the CFPB’s recent final rule (Final Rule) revising Regulation B, which implements the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA). The lawsuit was filed in the federal district court for the District of Columbia by the National Fair Housing Alliance, Rise Economy (fka California Reinvestment Coalition), BLDS, LLC and SolasAI.… Continue Reading

On May 1, 2026, the CPFB published in the Federal Register the revised Small Business Data Collection Rule, or “1071 Rule” (the “2026 Final Rule”), which it had proposed revising in November 2025. The 2026 Final Rule becomes effective June 30, 2026, although as discussed below, the compliance date is January 1, 2028.… Continue Reading

The CFPB’s Office of Inspector General is still investigating the agency’s workforce and contracting moves to see what impact it has had on agency actions.

“We are reviewing the CFPB’s workforce and contracting actions to determine their high-level effects on mission-related activities and support functions,” the OIG said, in an update of its activities.… Continue Reading

On April 22, 2026, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), under Acting Director Russell Vought, issued a significant final rule reshaping the agency’s approach to fair lending enforcement under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) and Regulation B. While early commentary has been sharply divided, a closer reading of the final rule itself reveals a thoughtful and disciplined effort to realign enforcement with statutory text, evidentiary rigor, and practical compliance realities.… Continue Reading

In the episode of the Consumer Finance Monitor podcast we are releasing today, we examine what may be the most consequential development in New York consumer protection law in nearly half a century: the enactment of the New York State Fair Business Practices Act (the FAIR Act).

Signed into law in December 2025 and taking effect on February 17, 2026, the FAIR Act represents the first comprehensive overhaul of New York General Business Law § 349 in almost 50 years.… Continue Reading