CFPB, Federal Agencies, State Agencies, and Attorneys General
This Wednesday, December 14, CFPB Director Rohit Chopra is scheduled to appear before the House Financial Services Committee for a hearing, “Consumers First: Semi-Annual Report of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.” A copy of the Committee Memorandum is available here.
This Thursday, December 15, Director Chopra 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
On September 13, 2022, Public Justice and other consumer advocacy groups sent a letter to CFPB Director Rohit Chopra urging the CFPB to limit the use of “forced” arbitration provisions by banks and other consumer finance companies. According to reports appearing in Law360 and BNA, at a virtual event organized by Public Justice and held the day after the letter was sent, Director Chopra expressed concerns about such provisions and is trying to “figure out what the path forward is.”… Continue Reading
According to a report appearing in today’s Law360, CFPB Director Rohit Chopra has indicated that the agency appears unlikely, at least in the near future, to undertake new rulemaking that would regulate the use of consumer arbitration agreements. The CFPB’s previous rule—which would have forbidden companies from including class action waivers in consumer arbitration agreements—was overridden by Congress in 2017 under the Congressional Review Act. … Continue Reading
Jon Hill of Law360 was among a group of reporters to whom Director Chopra recently gave a series of interviews in which he provided significant insights into his views on a range of topics. We review recent CFPB and other agency developments that provide context for Mr. Chopra’s comments, discuss what his comments reveal about his approach to use of CFPB authorities, and highlight the important takeaways for banks and other companies. … Continue Reading
We first review the views expressed by Director Chopra and CFPB actions taken under his leadership that led the Chamber to launch its campaign. We then discuss the campaign’s specific components, which consist of digital ads, Freedom of Information Act requests, and letters to Director Chopra. Our discussion includes an in-depth look at the basis for the Chamber’s view that the CFPB has acted unlawfully in connection with changes to its UDAAP examination procedures, revisions to its rules for administrative proceedings, rule change to make public a decision establishing risk-based supervision of a company, and its interpretive rule on enforcement of federal consumer financial protection laws by state attorney generals. … Continue Reading
Director Chopra gave interviews this week to several news reporting outlets including American Banker, Law 360, Politico, and Bloomberg. Below are some of highlights of the interviews as reported by those outlets, several of which also provided interview transcripts. We also share our reactions to Director Chopra’s comments.
CFPB priorities and status of rulemaking activity.… Continue Reading
CFPB rulemaking was the subject of a new blog post by Director Chopra published last week titled “Rethinking the approach to regulations.”
Director Chopra first discussed the CFPB’s efforts “to move away from highly complicated rules that have long been a staple of consumer financial regulation and towards simpler and clearer rules.” … Continue Reading
The CFPB has issued a report titled “Credit card late fees” that discusses the consumer impact of late fees by card type, credit score, and geography, and market reliance on late fees. (Late fees are also among the fees at which the CFPB has taken aim in its “junk fees” initiative.) … Continue Reading
Delivering the University of Pennsylvania Law School’s 2022 Distinguished Lecture on Regulation yesterday, CFPB Director Chopra addressed the following question: “How do we stop large dominant firms from violating the law over and over again with seeming impunity?” His remarks made clear that, under his leadership, large companies charged by the CFPB with repeat violations or new violations of a different kind than previously charged can expect the CFPB to demand significantly more than the payment of large amounts in consumer relief and/or penalties as part of a settlement agreement.… Continue Reading
Having previously worked closely with CFPB Director Chopra while he served as the CFPB’s Acting Director and its first Deputy Director, Mr. Date provides a unique perspective on Mr. Chopra’s views and likely actions as CFPB Director. We discuss how the CFPB is likely to approach key areas under Mr. Chopra’s leadership, including fair lending and digital redlining, technology/fintech, and mortgage lending and servicing. … Continue Reading
