On November 29, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral argument in Jarkesy v. Securities and Exchange Commission, a case in which the respondents are challenging the constitutionality of the SEC’s use of administrative...more
11/7/2023
/ Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Administrative Proceedings ,
Amicus Briefs ,
Article II ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Oral Argument ,
Regulatory Authority ,
SCOTUS ,
SEC v Jarkesy ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud ,
Seventh Amendment
On October 3, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court held oral argument in CFSA v. CFPB, a case with profound potential implications for the future of the CFPB. The Court will rule on whether the CFPB’s funding mechanism violates the...more
The Texas federal district court hearing the lawsuit challenging the validity of the CFPB’s final rule implementing Section 1071 of the Dodd-Frank Act (Rule) has issued an order that preliminarily enjoins the CFPB from...more
10/31/2023
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau v Community Financial Services Association of America Ltd ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Federal Funding ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
SCOTUS ,
Section 1071 ,
Small Business ,
Small Business Loans
On October 3, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court held oral argument in CFSA v. CFPB, a case with profound potential implications for the future of the CFPB. The Court will rule on whether the CFPB’s funding mechanism violates the...more
On Wednesday, by a vote of 53-44, the Senate voted to approve S.J. 32, the resolution introduced under the Congressional Review Act (CRA) to override the CFPB’s final Section 1071 small business lending rule (1071 Rule)....more
10/20/2023
/ Congressional Review Act ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau v Community Financial Services Association of America Ltd ,
CRA ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
First Amendment ,
OCC ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Section 1071 ,
Small Business ,
Small Business Loans ,
True Lender
American Banker recently reported that the CFPB is planning to substantially increase the size of its staff, particularly its Enforcement Division staff....more
Last Wednesday, we published three blog posts about new actions taken by the CFPB and FTC related to the Biden Administration’s war on “junk fees”...more
Last Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear a second case, Relentless, Inc. v. U.S. Department of Commerce, in which the question presented is whether the Court should overrule its 1984 decision in Chevron, U.S.A.,...more
10/16/2023
/ Certiorari ,
Chevron Deference ,
Chevron v NRDC ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Loper Bright Enterprises v Raimondo ,
National Marine Sanctuaries Act (NMSA) ,
New Regulations ,
Regulatory Agencies ,
Relentless Inc v US Department of Commerce ,
SCOTUS ,
Statutory Interpretation ,
U.S. Commerce Department ,
Vessels
The CFPB has released a new issue of Supervisory Highlights that carries the title “Junk Fees Update Special Edition.” The report discusses the CFPB’s examinations involving fees in the areas of deposits, auto servicing, and...more
As part of the White House’s latest round of efforts targeting so-called “junk fees,” the Federal Trade Commission has issued a proposed rule, “Rule on Unfair or Deceptive Fees.” The proposal follows the FTC’s issuance in...more
10/12/2023
/ Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FTC Act ,
Goods or Services ,
Hidden Fees ,
Proposed Rules ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Section 5 ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
As we have previously reported on this blog and discussed on our Consumer Finance Monitor Podcast, last year, the CFPB embarked on a campaign orchestrated by the Biden Administration to eliminate “junk fees.” ...more
10/12/2023
/ Advisory Opinions ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA) ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Credit Unions ,
Fees ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Insufficient Funds ,
Regulation X ,
UDAAP
Our special guest is Mark Budnitz, Professor Emeritus, Georgia State University College of Law. In an article recently published in the Georgetown Journal on Poverty Law and Policy, Prof. Budnitz explores the impact on...more
A New York federal district court has denied a motion to dismiss the lawsuit filed in January 2022 by the CFPB against three companies that purchase portfolios of defaulted debts (Corporate Defendants) and three individuals...more
This week, the U.S. Supreme Court held oral argument in Community Financial Services Association of America Ltd. v. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, a case we have been following closely on Consumer Finance Monitor...more
Our special guest is Michael Ostheimer, Senior Consumer Protection Attorney in the FTC’s Division of Advertising Practices. In June 2023, the FTC updated its guides that set forth the FTC’s position on how Section 5 of the...more
In March 2022, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced that it had revised its examination manual to instruct its examiners to apply the “unfairness” standard under the Consumer Financial Protection Act to conduct...more
On September 14th, the Federal District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky granted the plaintiff’s motion to preliminarily enjoin the CFPB from implementing the Small Business Lending Rule (Rule) promulgated under...more
9/25/2023
/ American Bankers Association ,
Beneficiaries ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA) ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau v Community Financial Services Association of America Ltd ,
Consumer Lenders ,
Debt Collection ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Section 1071 ,
Small Business
Our special guest is Andrew Nigrinis, PhD, who formerly served as Enforcement Economist for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. We first discuss what is meant by “dark patterns” and the types of digital practices...more
Last week, a group of consumer advocate organizations filed a Petition for Rulemaking with the CFPB that would prohibit the use of pre-dispute arbitration clauses in consumer contracts in favor of arbitration clauses that...more
9/19/2023
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) ,
Petition for Rulemaking ,
Pre-Dispute Arbitration ,
Proposed Regulation
On September 14th, the Federal District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky granted the plaintiff’s motion to preliminarily enjoin the CFPB from implementing the Small Business Lending Rule (“Rule”) promulgated under...more
9/19/2023
/ CFPB v Community Financial Services Association of America ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA) ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Federal Funding ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Motion To Enjoin ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Section 1071 ,
Small Business ,
Small Business Loans
Earlier last week, a group of consumer advocate organizations filed a Petition for Rulemaking with the CFPB that would prohibit the use of pre-dispute arbitration clauses in consumer contracts in favor of arbitration clauses...more
9/18/2023
/ Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Congressional Review Act ,
Consumer Contracts ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Final Rules ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Mandatory Arbitration Clauses ,
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) ,
Pre-Dispute Arbitration ,
Statutory Authority
Last week, three farm credit trade associations filed the latest in a series of unopposed emergency motions for leave to intervene in the Texas case challenging the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (“CFPB”) final small...more
Monday, we blogged about the opinion issued on September 8 by the Federal District Court for the Eastern District of Texas in the lawsuit brought last year by several trade associations against the CFPB. In that lawsuit, the...more
9/13/2023
/ Constitutional Challenges ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau v Community Financial Services Association of America Ltd ,
Dodd-Frank ,
ECOA ,
Examination Procedures ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Injunctions ,
Injunctive Relief ,
Trade Associations ,
UDAAP
As we predicted long ago, on Friday, September 8, 2023, the Federal District Court for the Eastern District of Texas vacated the changes made in March 2022 to the CFPB’s Exam Manual. On that date, the CFPB purported to use...more
9/13/2023
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA) ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Discriminatory Lending Practices ,
ECOA ,
Examination Procedures ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Regulatory Authority ,
Statutory Violations ,
UDAAP ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
Last week, I moderated a live and virtual program at the American Bar Association Business Law Section 2023 Fall Meeting in Chicago. The program was entitled: “U.S. Supreme Court to Revisit Chevron Deference: What the SCOTUS...more
9/11/2023
/ American Bar Association (ABA) ,
Chevron Deference ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
National Bank Act ,
OCC ,
Petition for Writ of Certiorari ,
SCOTUS ,
Statutory Interpretation