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

In a notice to be published in tomorrow’s Federal Register, the CFPB, OCC, Fed, FDIC, SEC, and NCUA announce that the Office of Management and Budget has approved the “information collection” contained in their “Final Interagency Policy Statement Establishing Joint Standards for Assessing the Diversity Policies and Practices of Entities Regulated by the Agencies.” … Continue Reading

A report last month issued by the Government Accountability Office (GAO)  found that a survey of nonexecutive CFPB employees revealed “heightened concerns related to fair treatment, trust that employees can raise concerns related to fair treatment, trust that employees can raise concerns without fear of reprisal, confidence in complaint processes, and other matters.” … Continue Reading

Tomorrow, July 11, the House Financial Services Committee’s  Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit will hold a hearing titled: “Examining the Opportunities and Challenges with Financial Technology (“FinTech”): The Development of Online Marketplace Lending.”  According to the Committee memorandum, the hearing “will give Committee members the opportunity to assess the development of the FinTech market, including how online lenders and banks interact. … Continue Reading

By a vote of 239-185, the House of Representatives has approved a fiscal year 2017 appropriations bill that contains various provisions intended to curb the CFPB’s authority.  Those provisions would fund the CFPB through the annual congressional appropriations process rather than through transfers from the Federal Reserve as currently provided by Dodd-Frank and change the CFPB’s leadership structure from a single Director to a five-member Board of Directors appointed by the President.… Continue Reading

The CFPB and DOJ recently announced a proposed consent order with BancorpSouth Bank to settle charges that the bank’s mortgage lending practices violated the Fair Housing Act and the Equal Credit Opportunity Act.  In addition to allegations of redlining and discrimination resulting from discretionary underwriting and pricing, the agencies’ joint complaint filed in federal court in Mississippi includes allegations of overt discrimination that are based in part on what the CFPB has called its first use of testers or “mystery shoppers” posing as consumers to support discrimination charges. … Continue Reading

The CFPB has issued its ninth Semi-Annual Report to the President and Congress covering the period from October 1, 2015 through March 31, 2016.

The 188-page report recycles information from previously-issued CFPB reports and reviews ongoing and past developments, which we have covered in previous blog posts.

By way of aggregate statistics, the report indicates that in the six-month period it covers, CFPB supervisory actions resulted in financial institutions providing more than $44 million in redress to over 177,000 consumers. … Continue Reading

In its Summer 2016 Supervisory Highlights, which covers supervision work generally completed between January and April 2016, the CFPB highlights violations found by its examiners involving automobile origination, debt collection, mortgage origination, small-dollar lending, and fair lending.

The report states that recent non-public supervisory actions have resulted in restitution of approximately $24.5 million to more than 257,000 consumers. … Continue Reading