CONSUMER PROTECTION/ELIZABETH WARREN/SUPREME COURT/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The Supreme Court announced on Friday [10-18-19] that it would hear a challenge to the leadership structure of the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau, agreeing to decide whether the president is free to fire its director without cause. The bureau, the brainchild of Elizabeth Warren, then a law professor at […]
Category: Consumer Protection
12/6/2018
CONSUMER PROTECTION/NOMINATIONS/SENATE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “The Senate narrowly confirmed Kathy Kraninger for a five-year term as the head of the CFPB, putting her in charge of an Obama-era agency that became a lightning rod for Republican attacks over its aggressive enforcement. Kraninger, nominated by President Donald Trump in June, was approved on a party-line 50-49 […]
12/6/2018
CONSUMER PROTECTION/NOMINATIONS/SENATE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “The U.S. Senate voted 50-49 on Thursday [12-6-18] to confirm President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the U.S. consumer watchdog despite opposition from Democrats and consumer groups who say she is unqualified. Kathy Kraninger will serve as director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), replacing acting chief Mick Mulvaney, […]
8/27/2018
CONSUMER PROTECTION/EDUCATION/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “The top official overseeing student loans at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau resigned on Monday [8-27-18] in protest of Trump administration policies that he said were harming students and families. Seth Frotman, the student loan ombudsman at the CFPB, said in a letter to acting Director Mick Mulvaney that political […]
7/27/2018
CONSUMER PROTECTION/NOMINATIONS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Democratic lawmakers stepped up pressure on President Trump’s pick to lead the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, demanding more information on her role in the administration’s immigration policies and her stance on consumer finance issues, according to letters seen by Reuters on Friday [7-27-18]. The requests for information filed with the […]
7/19/2018
CONSUMER PROTECTION/IMMIGRATION/NOMINATIONS/SENATE/TRUMP PEOPLE: “President Donald Trump’s choice to lead the U.S. consumer watchdog survived aggressive questioning by lawmakers on Thursday [7-19-18] and looked on track to secure a confirmation vote that could come as soon as this month. There were heated exchanges in the Senate as Democratic lawmakers grilled Kathy Kraninger, a government official, on […]
5/7/2018
BUDGET/CONGRESS/CONSUMER PROTECTION/SPENDING/TRUMP PEOPLE: “In his time in the Trump administration, Mick Mulvaney has produced two budgets that slashed federal spending and were heralded as blueprints for the deconstruction of the administrative state. Even Republicans ignored them, and Congress then added billions to the very programs he targeted in what seemed a personal rebuke. But Mr. […]
4/18/2018
CONSUMER PROTECTION/GOP/SENATE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The Senate on Wednesday [4-18-18] moved to eliminate a 2013 consumer protection measure intended to combat discrimination in auto lending, marking an expansive new use of its power to kill federal regulations. The lawmakers voted 51-47 to gut the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau‘s guidance, which Republicans attacked as harmful to auto […]
4/2/2018
CONSUMER PROTECTION/TRUMP PEOPLE: “The head of the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau asked Congress on Monday [4-2-18] to trim the agency’s power to write rules and spend money. Mick Mulvaney, the head of the CFPB, said the agency has the kind of power that should only rest with Congress. President Donald Trump tapped Mulvaney to […]
3/23/2018
CONSUMER PROTECTION/LEGAL/TRUMP PEOPLE: “The top cop for U.S. consumer finance has decided not to sue a payday loan collector and is weighing whether to drop cases against three payday lenders, said five people with direct knowledge of the matter.The move shows how Mick Mulvaney, named interim head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) by […]
2/12/2018
BUDGET/CONSUMER PROTECTION/MICK MULVANEY/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The Trump administration on Monday [2-12-18] further detailed its vision to change the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, proposing that the regulator get less funding and fewer enforcement powers along with an overhauled mission that is friendlier to companies. In the CFPB’s new five-year strategic plan, the administration articulated the thinking […]
2/6/2018
CONSUMER PROTECTION/STEVE MNUCHIN/TREASURY: “U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Tuesday [2-6-18] said he wants to know how the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is handling a probe into a hack of credit bureau Equifax Inc after a report that the agency’s chief has pulled back from investigating the matter. Equifax disclosed in September that hackers had […]
2/5/2018
COMMERCE/CONSUMER PROTECTION/ENERGY: “The top Democrat on the House Energy and Commerce Committee asked the Trump administration Monday [2-5-18] to investigate fake online comments uncovered by The Wall Street Journal on a rule to restrict high-interest payday lending. Rep. Frank Pallone of New Jersey made the request in a letter to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s […]
2/1/2018
CONSUMER PROTECTION/LEGAL/MICK MULVANEY/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The Trump administration has revamped the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s lending-discrimination operations, an agency spokesman said Thursday, the latest step in a broad review of the bureau’s activities under its new director. The changes place the consumer-finance regulator’s Office of Fair Lending and Equal Opportunity under the direct control of […]
1/23/2018
BUDGET/CONSUMER PROTECTION/MICK MULVANEY: “Mick Mulvaney, the White House budget director, spent the weekend managing the shutdown of the federal government. On Tuesday [1-23-18], he turned his attention back to his secondary job running the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, a government agency he would probably shut down if he could. In a 1,118 word mission statement […]
1/18/2018
BUDGET/CONSUMER PROTECTION/FEDERAL RESERVE: “Every quarter, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau formally requests its operating funds from the Federal Reserve. Last quarter, former director Richard Cordray asked for $217.1 million. Cordray, an appointee of President Barack Obama, needed just $86.6 million the quarter before that. And yesterday, President Donald Trump’s acting CFPB director, Mick Mulvaney, sent […]
12/21/2017
BUDGET/CONSUMER PROTECTION/TREASURY/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The Trump administration’s move to put its budget chief in charge of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau exposed a divide between a White House faction and the Treasury Department over just what the role of the consumer watchdog should be. The installation of Mick Mulvaney, head of the Office of Management […]
12/4/2017
CONSUMER PROTECTION/CYBERWAR/MICK MULVANEY: “The Trump administration’s interim director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said he has frozen the agency’s collection of personal information due to cybersecurity concerns, a step in changing policies criticized by the financial industry. Mick Mulvaney, who is splitting his time as acting CFPB director and the White House’s budget chief, […]
12/1/2017
CONSUMER PROTECTION/NOMINATIONS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The White House on Friday [12-1-17] appointed Brian Johnson, a Republican congressional lawyer, to assist the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s new interim chief, Mick Mulvaney, as he takes charge of the agency. Mr. Johnson, an aide to House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R., Texas), will serve as senior adviser […]
11/29/2017
CONSUMER PROTECTION/MICK MULVANEY/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “A federal judge on Tuesday [11-28-17] sided with the White House in the battle over control of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, saying he wouldn’t stop the Trump administration from running the agency. An Obama-era official, Leandra English, had argued she was the CFPB’s rightful leader until a permanent successor […]
11/28/2017
CONSUMER PROTECTION: “Just won the lawsuit on leadership of Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, CFPB. A big win for the Consumer!” -Donald Trump, Twitter.com, Nov. 28, 2017 10:28pm […]
11/28/2017
CONSUMER PROTECTION: ” ‘The Conference Board said that consumer sentiment was at its highest level in nearly 17 years in November. The Consumer Confidence Index rose from 126.2 in October to 129.5, notching its best reading since December 2000…’ https://t.co/iNOtT3K8Vn” -Donald Trump, Twitter.com, Nov. 28, 2017 05:44pm […]
11/28/2017
CONSUMER PROTECTION/LEGAL/NOMINATIONS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The Trump administration urged a federal judge to reject an Obama-era official’s attempt to assert command over the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, arguing in a court filing it had properly installed its own official to run the agency. In an overnight filing Monday [11-27-17], the Justice Department said the CFPB’s deputy […]
11/27/2017
BUSINESS/CONSUMER PROTECTION/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “A decade after the financial crisis, the federal government is easing up its policing of Wall Street and the banking industry, even without actually repealing broad swaths of regulation. The public battle over who will serve as the acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau — with the White House […]
11/27/2017
CONSUMER PROTECTION/LEGAL/NOMINATIONS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “On Monday [11-27-17], Mick Mulvaney, the acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, brought in doughnuts. Around the same time, Leandra English, the agency’s other acting director, sent an all-staff email thanking employees for their service. Awkward. And so it goes in a capital city defined by its dysfunction, at […]
11/27/2017
BUDGET/CONSUMER PROTECTION/MICK MULVANEY: “The White House’s budget chief, Mick Mulvaney, arrived at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Monday [11-27-17] to assume the job of acting director after an Obama-era official sued to block the Trump administration from taking control of the agency. Mr. Mulvaney, carrying a bag from Dunkin’ Donuts, entered the building early […]
11/27/2017
CONSUMER PROTECTION/LEGAL/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The fight for control of the U.S. consumer watchdog agency intensified on Monday [11-27-17] as Mick Mulvaney, President Donald Trump’s pick to run the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), imposed a hiring freeze and halted any new regulations. In a partisan showdown over the CFPB, which was created to crack down […]
11/26/2017
CONSUMER PROTECTION/LEGAL/NOMINATIONS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The battle over who will lead the federal government’s top consumer financial watchdog agency is now headed to court. The extraordinary fight, which intensified on Sunday [11-26-17] night, adds to the uncertainty over the fate of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, a regulator created in the aftermath of the global financial […]
11/26/2017
CONSUMER PROTECTION/MICK MULVANEY/NOMINATIONS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “An Obama-era official at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau sued the Trump administration on Sunday [11-26-17] night to block budget director Mick Mulvaney from taking control of the agency. Leandra English, a career staffer appointed Friday to lead the CFPB by former director Richard Cordray, filed the lawsuit in federal […]
11/25/2017
CONSUMER PROTECTION/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, or CFPB, has been a total disaster as run by the previous Administrations pick. Financial Institutions have been devastated and unable to properly serve the public. We will bring it back to life!” -Donald Trump, Twitter.com, Nov. 25, 2017 04:48pm […]
11/16/2017
BUDGET/CONSUMER PROTECTION/NOMINATIONS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “White House budget director Mick Mulvaney is expected to be tapped by the White House to serve as acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau when the agency’s current head, Richard Cordray, resigns from his post later in November, according to a person familiar with the matter. The move could […]
11/15/2017
CONSUMER PROTECTION/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Richard Cordray, the director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, said on Wednesday [11-15-17] that he would leave the agency this month. ‘It has been a joy of my life to have the opportunity to serve our country as the first director of the consumer bureau by working alongside all of […]
10/24/2017
BANKING/CONSUMER PROTECTION/MIKE PENCE/OBAMA/TREASURY: “Congress overturned a rule by an Obama-appointed financial regulator that would have made it easier for consumers to sue banks in groups, with Vice President Mike Pence casting a tiebreaking vote in the Senate. The 51-50 vote handed the financial industry its most significant legislative victory since President Donald Trump took office […]
10/4/2017
BUSINESS/CONSUMER PROTECTION/CYBERWAR/POLITICS: “Senators questioning Equifax Inc.’s former chief Wednesday [10-4-17] attacked the business model of the credit-reporting industry, asking why consumers shouldn’t have power over the data that the companies collect on them. The hearing, one of a series this week, was as much about the control consumers have over their personal data as it […]
9/21/2017
CONSUMER PROTECTION/CYBERWAR: “Equifax Inc. Chief Executive Richard Smith will testify in front of U.S. senators next month about the company’s handling of a data breach that compromised the personal information of millions of Americans. At an Oct. 4 hearing of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, Mr. Smith will have to answer […]
9/18/2017
CONSUMER PROTECTION/CYBERWAR: “New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said on Monday [9-18-17] that he wants credit-reporting firms to comply with the state’s cyber-security regulations, the latest government official to crack down on the industry in the wake of the massive Equifax hack. Also on Monday, Bloomberg News reported that federal authorities have opened a criminal probe […]
9/15/2017
CONSUMER PROTECTION/CYBERWAR: “U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren said on Friday [9-15-17] she has begun an investigation into Equifax’s massive data breach and, along with 11 other Democratic senators, introduced a bill to give consumers the ability to freeze their credit for free. Warren, who has built a reputation as a fierce consumer champion, also signaled in […]
9/12/2017
CONSUMER PROTECTION/CYBERWAR/FTC/TREASURY: “A U.S. senator on Tuesday [9-12-17] called for a criminal investigation of executives from credit bureau Equifax Inc (EFX.N) for stock sales after a massive data breach this summer, and said their actions were comparable to insider trading. The breach, which the company learned about in July but did not acknowledge until this […]
9/4/2017
CONSUMER PROTECTION: “Democrat Richard Cordray delivered a campaign-style stump speech at a sprawling Labor Day celebration on Monday [9-4-17], but the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau chief stopped short of saying whether he intends to run for governor of Ohio. If Cordray were to step down to run for political office it would allow President […]
8/29/2017
CONSUMER PROTECTIONS: “A top House Republican escalated pressure on Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Richard Cordray, accusing him of letting ‘personal political ambitions’ influencing its rule-making on high-interest lending. In a letter sent Monday [8-28-17] to Mr. Cordray, House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R., Texas), said he was concerned about the process the […]
7/10/2017
CONSUMER PROTECTION/LEGAL: “The nation’s consumer watchdog is adopting a rule on Monday [7-10-17] that would pry open the courtroom doors for millions of Americans, restoring their right to bring class-action lawsuits against financial firms. Under the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau rule, banks and credit card companies could no longer force customers into arbitration and block […]
7/10/2017
BANKING/CONSUMER PROTECTION: “An Obama-appointed regulator on Monday [7-10-17] barred financial-services companies from requiring customers to use arbitration to resolve disputes, setting off a showdown with the Trump administration and congressional Republicans. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Richard Cordray completed a rule proposed in May 2016 over the opposition of Trump administration officials and Republicans lawmakers. […]
4/21/2017
CONSUMER PROTECTION/DODD-FRANK/TRUMP MEMORANDA: “Presidential Memorandum for the Secretary of the Treasury Financial Stability Oversight Council The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, Public Law 111-203 (the “Dodd-Frank Act”), authorizes the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) to determine that a nonbank financial company’s material financial distress or the nature, scope, size, scale, concentration, interconnectedness, […]