While the media is giving lots of coverage to the fifth anniversary of the CFPB, I thought it appropriate to commemorate the fifth anniversary of our blog, which was launched on July 21, 2011, the same day the Bureau was stood up.  

When the Dodd-Frank Act was signed into law one year earlier, it had 16 titles.… Continue Reading

Today, July 21, 2016, marks the fifth anniversary of the date on which the CFPB officially opened its doors for business.  Since then, the CFPB has embarked on unprecedented initiatives that have dramatically changed the face of the consumer financial services industry.  Despite the continuing legislative and judicial challenges to its structure, we expect no slowdown in the CFPB’s aggressive pursuit of its agenda.… Continue Reading

The CFPB has announced the following senior leadership changes:

  • Chris D’Angelo will serve as the CFPB’s Associate Director for Supervision, Enforcement and Fair Lending.  Mr. D’Angelo is currently the Bureau’s chief of staff.  He replaces David Bleicken, who has been serving as the Acting Associate Director since the departure of Steven Antonakes from the CFPB last July. 
… Continue Reading

The CFPB has released an “issue brief” entitled “Financial Education Programs Serving Immigrant Populations.”  The report is intended “to raise visibility about the financial education challenges that many immigrants face.”

The report shares the results of a “field scan” in which the CFPB identified financial education programs and providers and spoke with experts in the field. … Continue Reading

This past May, the U.S. Supreme Court, in Spokeo, Inc. v. Robins, ruled 6-2 that a plaintiff alleging a Fair Credit Reporting Act violation does not have standing under Article III of the U.S. Constitution to sue for statutory damages in federal court unless the plaintiff can show that he or she suffered “concrete,” “real” harm as a result of the violation. … Continue Reading

The CFPB has announced that it plans to host its second research conference on consumer finance on December 15-16, 2016.  (The first such conference was held in May 2015.)

The announcement contains a call for complete papers or detailed abstracts that include preliminary results to be submitted by August 26, 2016. … Continue Reading

The CFPB has announced that it will hold a field hearing about debt collection on July 28, 2016 in Sacramento, California.  We expect the field hearing to coincide with the CFPB’s release of an outline of the proposals it is considering in preparation for convening a small business review panel required by the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act (SBREFA) and Dodd-Frank. … Continue Reading

The D.C. federal district court has rejected the plaintiffs’ attempt in State National Bank of Big Spring, Texas, et al. v. Lew, et al. to invalidate the actions taken by Director Cordray while he was a recess appointee.  The district court deferred ruling on the plaintiffs’ separation of powers constitutional challenge to the CFPB pending a decision by the D.C.… Continue Reading

On July 20, 2016, from 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM ET, the American Bar Association is sponsoring a program, “CFPB’s Proposed Arbitration Ban — What You Need To Know.”   The panelists will discuss the pros and cons of the CFPB’s arbitration proposal and its implications for industry.  Alan S. Kaplinsky, who chairs Ballard Spahr’s Consumer Financial Services Group, will be a panelist. … Continue Reading

While the CFPB has not yet held a public event devoted to FinTech or financial innovation, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) recently held a Forum On Supporting Financial Innovation in the Federal Banking System to discuss the agency’s approach to FinTech and other innovative products. The forum follows up on the OCC’s white paper with a similar name.… Continue Reading