The CFPB has released its Fall 2023 rulemaking agenda as part of the Fall 2023 Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions.  The agenda’s preamble indicates that “[t]he Bureau reasonably anticipates having the regulatory matters identified [in the agenda] under consideration during the period from November 2023 to October 2024.”… Continue Reading

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has sent a letter to the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) commenting on the DFPI’s proposal that would require providers of “income-based advances” to register with or obtain a license from the  DFPI and comply with the fee and interest rate limits of the California Financing Law (CFL).… Continue Reading

We previously reported and released a podcast episode on comments that we and Professor David Sherwyn of Cornell University submitted in opposition to the Petition for Rulemaking filed by a number of consumer advocacy groups urging the CFPB to prohibit pre-dispute consumer arbitration clauses and allow only post-dispute clauses.  Among other things, we argued that the  rule proposed by the Petitioners would be prohibited by the Congressional Review Act (CRA) because it is substantially the same as the Final Arbitration Rule promulgated by the CFPB in July 2017 that Congress overrode in November 2017. … Continue Reading

Last week, by a vote of 221-202, the House of Representatives voted to approve S.J. 32, the resolution introduced under the Congressional Review Act to override the CFPB’s final Section 1071 small business lending rule (1071 Rule).  The Senate voted to approve S.J. 32 in October 2023.  President Biden is expected to veto the resolution and there is unlikely to be sufficient votes to override his veto. … Continue Reading

In September 2023, the CFPB announced that it was launching a Fair Credit Reporting Act rulemaking and issued an outline of the proposals it is considering in preparation for convening a Small Business Advisory Review Panel.  A group of consumer financial industry trade groups recently sent a letter to Director Chopra urging the CFPB to issue an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR) before it publishes a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking.… Continue Reading

The CFPB recently announced the settlement of a bankruptcy court adversary proceeding filed jointly with the Attorneys General of 11 states against Prehired, LLC (Prehired) and two affiliated companies (Prehired Affiliates) for alleged violations of the Truth in Lending Act (TILA), the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), and the Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA) in connection with a vocational training program operated by Prehired and related Income Share Agreements (ISAs) offered by Prehired to students to finance the cost of the program. … Continue Reading

The Consumer Bankers Association has issued the second blog post of its four-part “Facts Matter” blog series.  In the second blog post, CBA “explains how the [CFPB’s] public statements can mislead market observers by painting an inaccurate picture of the credit card marketplace.”  CBA identifies various ways in which the CFPB’s October 2023 report (Report) under the Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act tells “a different, richer, story about credit card fees” than the story told by the CFPB’s press releases and speechwriters. … Continue Reading

Last week, the CFPB issued its Semi-Annual Report to Congress covering the period beginning October 1, 2022 and ending March 31, 2023.

Today, CFPB Director Chopra appeared before the House Financial Services Committee for a hearing, “The Semi-Annual Report of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.”  Tomorrow, he is scheduled to appear before the Senate Banking Committee for a hearing, “The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Semi-Annual Report to Congress.”… Continue Reading

The CFPB has issued its annual Fair Debt Collection Practices Act report covering the CFPB’s debt collection activities in 2022.  The report incorporates information from the FTC’s most recent annual letter to the CFPB describing its 2022 activities in the debt collection market.

CFPB Report. The CFPB report includes a “spotlight” section on the collection of medical bills. … Continue Reading

The Consumer Bankers Association has launched a four-part blog series “Facts Matter” to counter what it calls “misinformation conveyed by the CFPB” in its press release about the CFPB’s October 2023 report (Report) under the Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act (CARD Act).  The CARD Act requires the CFPB to issue a biennial report to Congress on the consumer credit card market.… Continue Reading