CFPB, Federal Agencies, State Agencies, and Attorneys General
As the Trump Administration attempts to drastically cut CFPB funding and staffing, New York regulators and legislators are attempting to fill what could be a void in consumer protection efforts.
“We’re hiring,” Adrienne A. Harris, the state’s Superintendent of the Department of Financial Services, said during a presentation on March 12 at the Brookings Institution.… Continue Reading
State attorneys general are not waiting to see what the future holds for the CFPB. With federal oversight receding, states are stepping up enforcement activities and strengthening their consumer protection laws.
This shift—accelerated by efforts to limit the CFPB’s authority under the Trump administration—creates a complex landscape where businesses must navigate a patchwork of state-level statutes, regulations, and enforcement priorities.… Continue Reading
In a significant ruling on February 18, 2025, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals determined that the National Bank Act (NBA) does not preempt the procedural “right to cure” notice requirements mandated by the Wisconsin Consumer Act (WCA), reversing a judgment in two debt collection actions.
The court, thereby, determined that this state-level consumer protection was not preempted by the NBA.… Continue Reading
Oregon may become the latest state attempting to stop out-of-state banks from “exporting” home-state interest rates on loans made to Oregon consumers. Like similar legislation adopted by Colorado in 2023, House Bill 2561 explicitly provides that the state does not want certain provisions of the Depository Institutions Deregulation and Monetary Control Act of 1980 (DIDMCA) to apply to loans made in Oregon.… Continue Reading
Earlier this month, the CFPB issued a report titled Strengthening State-Level Consumer Protection. The report argues, among other things, that states should “[r]evitalize private enforcement” by promulgating additional UDAAP laws and regulations that permit consumers to file “representational and “organizational” actions against companies because the widespread use of arbitration clauses by companies has “severely constrained consumers’ ability to enforce the law.”… Continue Reading
The CFPB is calling on state governments to increase their focus on consumer financial protection laws.
“Enforcing consumer protection law has long been a state-federal partnership in which the states have often taken the lead,” the CFPB said, in a report that includes legislative and regulatory language that states may use.… Continue Reading
In the wake of the Office of Administrative Law’s approval of its registration and reporting requirements for providers of income-based advances, private postsecondary education financing, debt settlement services, and student debt relief services, California’s Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (“DFPI”) has issued an invitation for comment on “what other industries…the DFPI should establish registration and reporting requirements for under the [California Consumer Financial Protection Law].”… Continue Reading
In this podcast show, we explore with our repeat guest, Professor Dan Awrey of Cornell University Law School, his working paper “Money and Federalism” in which he advocates for the enactment of Federal legislation creating a Federal charter for non-banks engaged in the payments business, like PayPal and Venmo. The article may be accessed online at SSRN and will likely be published in a law review at some time in the future.… Continue Reading
On October 11, California’s Office of Administrative Law (“OAL”) approved the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation’s (“DFPI’s”) registration rulemaking for providers of the following products:
Our podcast listeners are very familiar with federal fair lending and anti-discrimination laws that apply in the consumer lending area: the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) and Fair Housing Act (FHA). Those statutes prohibit discriminating against certain protected classes of consumer credit applicants. For example, the ECOA makes it unlawful for any creditor to discriminate against any applicant, with respect to any aspect of a credit transaction, on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, marital status, or age (provided the applicant has the capacity to contract); the applicant’s use of a public assistance program to receive all or part of their income; or the applicant’s previous good-faith exercise of any right under the Consumer Credit Protection Act.… Continue Reading
