March 2014

Last September, a federal district court in Washington, D.C. issued an opinion on Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests made by Judicial Watch to the CFPB for documents relating to Richard Cordray’s recess appointment as CFPB Director.  With regard to all but one document, the court agreed with the CFPB’s position that it was entitled to rely on the deliberative process privilege, the attorney client/attorney work product privilege, or the presidential communications privilege to withhold certain records.  … Continue Reading

According to a Politico report, a CFPB spokesman has said that the two invited CFPB representatives will not be participating in the hearing scheduled for this Wednesday, April 2 by the House Financial Services Committee’s Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations.

Entitled “Allegations of Discrimination and Retaliation within the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau,” the hearing is expected to include testimony from a CFPB employee who alleged she experienced gender discrimination and retaliation for filing an Equal Employment Opportunity complaint with the CFPB’s Human Capital Office. … Continue Reading

On March 19, 2014, the Federal Trade Commission hosted a seminar on Alternative Scoring Products, the second in its Spring Privacy Series. The speakers discussed the privacy concerns associated with predictive analytics products and scores that are offered by many data brokers. Alternative scores are used by companies to predict risks such as the likelihood that a person has committed identity fraud, whether contacting a consumer by mail or phone will lead to successful debt collection, or the credit risk associated with certain loan applications.… Continue Reading

The House Financial Services Committee’s Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations has scheduled a hearing for April 2, 2014 entitled “Allegations of Discrimination and Retaliation within the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.”  The hearing follows the American Banker’s recent article revealing that CFPB staff evaluations showed a pattern of racial disparities.  

According to the Committee memorandum, Committee staff received corroborating information from a CFPB employee who alleged she experienced gender discrimination and retaliation for filing an Equal Employment Opportunity complaint with the CFPB’s Human Capital Office.… Continue Reading

On April 4, the Georgetown Consumer Law Society and Citizen Works will be hosting a symposium at Georgetown Law Center titled “Making the Fine Print Fair.”  Two CFPB representatives have been invited to speak: Meredith Fuchs, CFPB General Counsel, and Anne Zorc, CFPB Assistant General Counsel for Law and Policy.  Accepted speakers include a number of prominent consumer advocates, such as David Vladeck, former Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection; Deepak Gupta, former CFPB Senior Counsel; and Omri Ben-Shahar, co-reporter for the Restatement on Consumer Contracts.   … Continue Reading

The Senate Banking Committee’s subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Protection is holding a hearing today titled: “Are Alternative Financial Products Serving Consumers?”  Observers have noted that the hearing could provide insight into the priorities of Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown who chairs the subcommittee and is expected to become chair of the full Banking Committee if Democrats maintain control of the Senate.  … Continue Reading

On March 24, 2014, the CFPB along with five other federal agencies issued a joint proposed rule (“Proposed Rule”) regarding Appraisal Management Companies (“AMC”) as required by section 1473 of the Dodd-Frank Act (“Dodd-Frank”).  Under Dodd-Frank, Congress tasked federal regulators with establishing minimum requirements regarding AMC registration and supervision.  The other regulators are the federal banking agencies, the National Credit Union Administration and the Federal Housing Finance Agency. … Continue Reading

The CFPB has marshaled data against what it sees as a sustained use problem by payday loan borrowers and is “in the late stages” of drafting rules to limit payday loan borrowing, according to Director Cordray’s remarks prepared for today’s field hearing.

It appears that in the near future the Bureau will issue a notice of proposed rulemaking in which it concludes that repeated payday loan borrowing is “unfair” or “abusive” under the Dodd-Frank Act.… Continue Reading

The CFPB appears to have reacted to the American Banker’s recent article revealing that CFPB staff evaluations showed a pattern of racial disparities by releasing the internal report that was the basis for the article.  According to an article by Wall Street Journal reporter Alan Zibel, the CFPB’s release of the report last week “represents an attempt to quell internal discord over treatment of minority employees at the agency.” … Continue Reading