On April 30, 2019, the House Financial Services Subcommittee held a hearing entitled “Ending the Debt Traps in the Payday and Small Dollar Credit Industry.” (A video of the hearing is available here.)

The tone and tenor of the hearing became readily apparently during opening remarks offered by Representative Gregory Meeks, in which he analogized small dollar lenders to “no document” mortgage lenders that caused the 2008 financial crisis because of a failure to assess ability to repay.… Continue Reading

On Tuesday, March 3, CFPB Director Richard Cordray appeared before the House Financial Services Committee to answer questions regarding the Bureau’s Semi-Annual Report to Congress and the President, which it published on December 4 of last year.  As we anticipated shortly before Director Cordray’s testimony, the report merely provided a backdrop for the hearing, which, in reality, served as a forum for committee members to question the Director on a range of issues significant to their respective constituents. … Continue Reading

Yesterday, the House Financial Services Committee’s Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee held a third hearing in its series of hearings addressing alleged discrimination at the CFPB. The Subcommittee heard testimony from current and former CFPB employees who described their experiences with discrimination and retaliation at the CFPB. The witnesses testified that Director Cordray’s reluctance to fire managers who had been accused of discrimination and retaliation “emboldened and empowered” other managers to continue to act badly.… Continue Reading