In Wednesday’s edition of Consumer Law & Policy Blog, Professor Jeff Sovern laments that during Director Rohit Chopra’s recent testimony before the Senate Banking Committee and the House Financial Services Committee, neither he nor any member of the Committees mentioned “arbitration” as an action item on the CFPB’s agenda. Professor Sovern expresses hope that the arbitration issue will nevertheless appear on the CFPB’s regulatory agenda when it is soon published.… Continue Reading

Professor Jeff Sovern responded to our blog criticizing his proposal for a new CFPB arbitration rule by asserting that his proposed rule is not substantially the same as the prior CFPB rule that Congress vetoed and, therefore, the Congressional Review Act would not bar its promulgation.  According to Professor Sovern: “I don’t see how my rule giving consumers a choice to opt in to arbitration clauses, which could include class action waivers, could be substantially the same as the earlier rule which blocked consumers and companies from agreeing to class action waivers.”… Continue Reading

Earlier this month, the CFPB issued another report on checking account overdraft services, “Data Point: Frequent Overdrafts,” and four one-page prototype model forms to replace the current Regulation E model form for banks to use to disclose overdraft fees and obtain a consumer’s consent to the bank’s overdraft service for ATM and one-time debit card transactions.… Continue Reading

In May 2015, the CFPB issued a report, “Data Point: Credit Invisibles,” that documented the results of a research project undertaken by the CFPB to better understand the demographic characteristics of consumers without traditional credit reports or credit scores.  The report concluded that the current credit reporting system is precluding certain populations from accessing credit and taking advantage of other economic opportunities. … Continue Reading

The CFPB has published a notice in the Federal Register announcing that a meeting of its Credit Union Advisory Council (CUAC) will be held on September 1, 2016.

The notice indicates that the CUAC will discuss youth financial capability and debt collection.  Presumably, the CFPB will seek input from CUAC members on the debt collection proposals it is considering, which it outlined last month in anticipation of convening a SBREFA panel.… Continue Reading

The FTC has sent a letter to the CFPB summarizing the FTC’s debt collection activities in 2015.  The letter is intended to provide the CFPB with information for its annual report to Congress on the federal government’s FDCPA activities.

The letter includes a discussion of the FTC’s collaboration with the CFPB on two amicus briefs in cases involving FDCPA issues.  … Continue Reading

A new report by Human Rights Watch (HRW) titled “Rubber Stamp Justice—US Courts, Debt Buying Corporations, and the Poor” is likely to find readers at the CFPB, which is expected to move closer early this year to proposing debt collection regulations.  In its Fall rulemaking agenda, the CFPB estimated that further prerule activities would occur in February 2016. … Continue Reading

The CFPB has published notices in the Federal Register announcing that it is seeking applications from persons interested in becoming members of its Academic Research Council (ARC), Consumer Advisory Board (Board), Community Bank Advisory Council (CBAC), or Credit Union Advisory Council (CUAC). Appointments to the ARC and Board are typically for three years and appointments to the CBAC and CUAC are typically for two years.… Continue Reading

The CFPB has published a notice in the Federal Register announcing that it is seeking applications from persons interested in becoming members of its Consumer Advisory Board, Community Bank Advisory Council, or Credit Union Advisory Council.  Appointments to the Board are typically for three years and appointments to the Councils are typically for two years.… Continue Reading

As part of this week’s flurry of enforcement-related announcements, the CFPB announced the settlement of a lawsuit filed jointly with the Attorneys General of North Carolina and Virginia  against Freedom Stores, Inc. (Freedom), a retailer selling merchandise online and in retail stores located near military bases that offered financing through retail installment contracts (RIC), for alleged unlawful debt collection practices. … Continue Reading