Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

Shakespeare Meets ALJs: Much Ado About Nothing

05/22/18

In a recent oral argument before the U.S. Supreme Court, conservatives urged the Court to outlaw the use of administrative law judges (ALJs) in agency enforcement actions.  The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is paying notice. On January 31, 2018, the CFPB reprised the ALJ debate in its second Request for Information under Acting Director Mick Mulvaney.

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How to Tie CFPB Enforcement Up in Knots

05/21/18

While Acting Director Mick Mulvaney is apparently on a tear to defang the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, some of his actions have flown under the radar. In this and future guest blog posts, I will shine light on one key initiative that largely has gone unnoticed:  namely, the twelve Requests for Information that Mr. Mulvaney launched on January 26.

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Call for Papers: The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

05/06/18

On Friday, January 4 from 10:30-12:15 pm, the section on Commercial & Related Consumer Law and the section on Creditors’ and Debtors’ Rights are hosting a joint panel at the 2019 AALS Annual Meeting in New Orleans.

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Congressional Review Act Confusion: Indirect Auto Lending Guidance Edition (a/k/a The Fast & the Pointless)

04/17/18

Part of the legacy of Newt Gingrich and his Contract with America (can I get damages for breach?) is the Congressional Review Act.  The CRA creates a mechanism whereby Congress can override an agency rulemaking on a simple majority vote in both houses, meaning that it is not subject to the filibuster in the Senate. Congress has only used this tool infrequently, most notably with the CRA resolution overriding the CFPB's arbitration rule. 

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Preempting the states: US Ed to shield debt collectors from consumer protection

02/28/18

As if the power to garnish wages without going to court, seize federal income tax refunds and charge 25% collection fees weren't enough, debt collectors have now persuaded the Education Department to free them from state consumer protection laws when they collect defaulted student loans.

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Financial Education Isn't Consumer Protection

02/13/18

The CFPB is out with its Strategic Plan for FY 2018-2022, also known (without any apparent irony) as The Five Year Plan.  Lots to chew on in this doozy, starting with this:

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English v. Trump Amicus Brief

02/07/18

Slipsters/Slips Guest Bloggers Kathleen Engel, Dalié Jiménez, Patricia McCoy and I submitted an amicus brief (with numerous other co-signors) to the DC Circuit in support of appellant Leandra English in English v. Trump, which, despite its caption is not about assault and battery, but about who is the rightful acting Director of the CFPB.

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Mick-Mulvaney-Think

02/07/18
A couple of weeks ago there appeared a remarkable memo written by Mick Mulvaney (who claims to be the Acting Director of the CFPB) to the CFPB staff.
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OLC Legal Opinion and the Missing Legislative History

11/25/17

The OLC's Legal Opinion on the CFPB succession is out. It's available here.  Three observations. 

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