Much attention has been devoted to the issuance very soon of the CFPB’s small-dollar lending rule. I thought that once that rule was issued, Richard Cordray would soon thereafter resign as Director to return to Ohio to run for Governor. However, based on a very reliable source, I now believe that Director Cordray will issue a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking regarding Part I of the debt collection rule (“NPR”) before he resigns. … Continue Reading
Medical debt collection remains in the crosshairs of the CFPB
The next meeting of the CFPB’s Consumer Advisory Board will take place on February 19 in Washington, DC. The focus of the meeting will be to “discuss trends and themes related to consumer and financial well-being and medical debt.” The meeting is open to the public and will be recorded. The CFPB on December 11 of last year held a field hearing about medical debt collection.… Continue Reading
CFPB to seek information on mobile financial services
Tomorrow, the CFPB will publish in the Federal Register a “Request for Information Regarding the Use of Mobile Financial Services by Consumers and Its Potential for Improving the Financial Lives of Economically Vulnerable Consumers.” The CFPB is looking for information on how consumers use mobile financial services to access products and services, particularly for economically vulnerable consumers. … Continue Reading
CFPB publishes source code for HUD-approved housing counselors
In November 2013, the CFPB published a tool to help consumers find local HUD-approved housing counselors. Now, the CFPB has published open source code to allow lenders to integrate the web-based tool into lender applications or websites. In the press release, the CFPB notes that the web-based tool can be used to find the 10 closest HUD-approved housing counselors to a consumer’s location and print or save the results. … Continue Reading
The Senate Republicans officially weigh in on Cordray’s nomination
Whatever hope President Obama may have had that his nomination of Richard Cordray to serve a five-year term as Director of the CFPB vanished today when 43 Republican Senators joined in a letter to the President saying that they will oppose Mr. Cordray or any other nominee until major structural changes are made to the CFPB.… Continue Reading
Consumer groups advocate banning overdraft fees and short-term, small-dollar loan features for prepaid cards
Last week, a coalition of 26 consumer groups, civil rights advocates, and community organizations submitted comments to the CFPB urging it to issue regulations banning overdraft fees and short-term, small-dollar loan features on prepaid cards. Among those groups submitting comments were the National Consumer Law Center, the Consumer Federation of America, and the Center for Responsible Lending.… Continue Reading
Initial analyses of CFPB complaint data show misleading nature of data
Recall that when the CFPB launched the Consumer Complaint Database, its expressed hope that “the marketplace of ideas” – i.e., the public – would study and analyze the information disclosed in the database in order to “determine what the data show[s].” 77 FR 37559. The CFPB also stated that the purpose of the database is to “provide consumers with timely and understandable information to make responsible decisions about financial transactions and to enhance the credit card market’s ability to operate transparently and efficiently.” … Continue Reading
CFPB launches consumer complaint database
Today, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau launched its Consumer Complaint Database, which allows the public to view consumer complaints filed against credit card issuers. The Bureau also announced that it is submitting a request to the Federal Register seeking comments on extending the database to include other financial products in addition to credit cards – any such comments are due by July 19, 2012.… Continue Reading
Introducing The CFPB Rundown
The Consumer Financial Services Group at Ballard Spahr is pleased to announce the launch of The CFPB Rundown, the latest addition to the extensive resources available on the CFPB Monitor. The CFPB Rundown will provide links to and track the status of CFPB-related legislative and regulatory developments as well as bulletins, policy statements and other guidance or significant information released by the CFPB.… Continue Reading
Recent CFPB requests for comments – an opportunity for banks?
Two notices with requests for comments recently published by the CFPB present prime opportunities for banks and other regulated institutions to engage with the CFPB not only to positively impact the CFPB’s processes and procedures, but also to demonstrate that banks seek to develop a relationship of cooperation and collaboration with the CFPB.… Continue Reading