It took about an hour for someone on the Senate Finance Committee during its hearing today to mention the “elephant in the room” — namely, the fact that the CFPB is only allowed under Dodd-Frank to be funded out of “combined...more
On May 16, 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the CFPB’s funding mechanism does not violate the Appropriations Clause of the U.S. Constitution. This two-part episode repurposes a recent webinar. In Part I, we first...more
Yesterday, I published a blog post highlighting the flaws in the arguments made by Professor Jeff Sovern in his recent article in the Consumer Law & Policy Blog for why the Fed, notwithstanding its losses, can still lawfully...more
If this blog post gives our readers a feeling of déjà vu, there’s a good reason—the latest developments in the lawsuit challenging the CFPB’s final credit card late fee rule (Rule) are a rerun of earlier developments in the...more
Although neither the CFPB, the Federal Reserve Board, nor the Treasury has responded to Professor Emeritus Hal Scott’s op-ed on May 20 in the Wall Street Journal, my interview with Professor Scott on our Consumer Finance...more
6/11/2024
/ Administrative Agencies ,
Banks ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Federal Funding ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry
Last month, just a few days before the preliminary injunction hearing, Colorado’s attorney general filed a Motion to Dismiss the Complaint filed in federal district court in Colorado by three financial services industry trade...more
Last week, the CFPB issued its Semi-Annual Report to Congress covering the period beginning April 1, 2023 and ending September 30, 2023. On June 12, 2024, CFPB Director Chopra is scheduled to appear before the Senate Banking...more
Special guest Professor Hal Scott of Harvard Law School joins us today as we delve into the thought-provoking question of whether the Supreme Court’s recent decision in the landmark case of CFSA v. CFPB really hands the CFPB...more
On June 4, 2024, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) issued a Consumer Financial Protection Circular 2024-03 (“Circular”) warning that the use of unlawful or unenforceable terms and conditions in contracts for...more
On May 30, 2024, in a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court reversed Cantero v. Bank of America, N.A., and remanded it back to the Second Circuit and instructed the appellate court to analyze whether New York’s law requiring...more
6/3/2024
/ Bank of America ,
Cantero v Bank of America NA ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Escrow Accounts ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Interest Rates ,
National Bank Act ,
Preemption ,
Remand ,
Reversal ,
SCOTUS
In a replay of earlier events, in response to an emergency petition for writ of mandamus and administrative stay of transfer filed by the plaintiffs in the lawsuit challenging the legality of the CFPB’s credit card late fee...more
5/31/2024
/ Constitutional Challenges ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Consumer Lenders ,
Credit Cards ,
Debt Collection ,
Final Rules ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Late Fees ,
Motion to Transfer ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Writ of Mandamus
Our special guest this week is John Tonetti. After decades as an industry risk executive, Mr. Tonetti joined the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), where he worked for many years in roles including Debt Collection...more
On Friday May 24, in response to the CFPB’s motion requesting the Fifth Circuit to accelerate the issuance of its mandate from July 9, 2024 with respect to its earlier dismissal of the plaintiffs’ appeal, the Fifth Circuit...more
5/28/2024
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
CARD Act ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau v Community Financial Services Association of America Ltd ,
Credit Cards ,
Debt Collection ,
Final Rules ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Late Fees ,
Motion to Transfer ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
SCOTUS ,
Truth in Lending Act (TILA) ,
Venue
On May 16, Justice Thomas issued the majority opinion in which the Supreme Court held, by a 7-2 vote, that the CFPB’s funding mechanism comported with the Appropriations Clause of the Constitution which states, in relevant...more
5/23/2024
/ Banks ,
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 ,
Final Rules ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
SCOTUS
Our special guests are Professor Dru Stevenson, South Texas College of Law in Houston, and Brian Knight, Senior Research Fellow, Mercatus Center at George Mason University. In this episode, we first discuss the history of ...more
The U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling last week in CFSA v. CFPB that the CFPB’s funding mechanism does not violate the Appropriations Clause of the U.S. Constitution removes what many observers consider to be the last remaining...more
5/22/2024
/ Constitutional Challenges ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau v Community Financial Services Association of America Ltd ,
Credit Cards ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Late Fees ,
Payday Loans ,
Proposed Rules ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
SCOTUS ,
Small Business Loans ,
UDAAP
After bouncing from the Texas federal district court to the D.C. federal district court to the Fifth Circuit and back again to the Texas federal district court, the industry lawsuit challenging the CFPB’s credit card late fee...more
5/21/2024
/ Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau v Community Financial Services Association of America Ltd ,
Credit Cards ,
Debt Collection ,
Final Rules ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Late Fees ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
SCOTUS
On May 16, the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado held a hearing in NAIB, et al v. Weiser, et al. on a motion filed by three financial services industry trade groups to preliminarily enjoin Colorado from...more
The U.S. Supreme Court, in a 7-2 decision, ruled yesterday that the CFPB’s funding mechanism does not violate the Appropriations Clause of the U.S. Constitution....more
5/17/2024
/ Constitutional Challenges ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau v Community Financial Services Association of America Ltd ,
Credit Cards ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Federal Funding ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Late Fees ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
SCOTUS
Our special guest is Professor Richard Frankel of Drexel University Thomas R. Kline School of Law and the author of a recent article on mass arbitration. In this episode, we first discuss what mass arbitration is, how it...more
Last Friday, May 10, the Texas federal district court hearing the lawsuit challenging the CFPB’s final credit card late fee rule (Rule) granted the plaintiffs’ preliminary injunction motion and stayed the Rule. The Rule was...more
5/14/2024
/ Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Consumer Lenders ,
Credit Cards ,
Debt Collection ,
Final Rules ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Late Fees ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Truth in Lending Act (TILA)
This week, the Texas federal district court hearing the industry lawsuit challenging the CFPB’s final credit card late fee rule (Rule) issued the following unusual order...more
5/14/2024
/ Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau v Community Financial Services Association of America Ltd ,
Credit Cards ,
Debt Collection ,
Final Rules ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Late Fees ,
Motion to Transfer ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
SCOTUS ,
Truth in Lending Act (TILA)
In a recent unpublished memorandum opinion in a putative class action, Carpenter et al. v. Opportunity Financial, LLC, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit upheld an arbitration clause in an agreement governing...more
The industry group plaintiffs in NAIB et al. v. Weiser et al., the lawsuit challenging Colorado’s opt-out legislation, have filed their reply to the brief filed by the Colorado Attorney General and Colorado Uniform Consumer...more
5/10/2024
/ Amicus Briefs ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
DIDMCA ,
FDIC ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Interest Rates ,
Loans ,
National Bank Act ,
Opt-Outs ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
State Attorneys General
Our special guest is Brian Johnson, Managing Director of Patomak Global Partners and former CFPB Deputy Director. In Nov. 2023, the CFPB issued a proposed rule to supervise nonbank companies that qualify as larger...more