Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

Lessons For Consumer Protection From The World Of Inclusive Capitalism

04/16/15

Lately I have been teaching courses with names such as "Global and Economic Justice" and "History, Impacts and Regulation of Consumer Credit" instead of "Bankruptcy," "Secured Transactions" and "Chapter 11 Reorganizations." So I have been reading different books and listening to different speakers.

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Insurance Capital Games and PMI Reinsurance Kickbacks

04/14/15

The New York Times carried an important story about the risky investment moves of life insurance companies.

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Auto Title Loans: Like Payday Loans, But Larger and Riskier

03/25/15

The Pew Charitable Trusts today released a report focusing on the market for auto title loans. The report brings together data from a wide variety of sources (including Slips contributor Nathalie Martin's work) to provide a clear, succinct, and thorough overview of the mechanics of this under-studied industry.

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Nostradamus-Style Predictions for Consumers in 2015

01/01/15

First some easy ones you all know:

1. The stock market will drop, perhaps precipitously, making now great time to rebalance retirement portfolios.

2. The price of gas will inch up and in the meantime, more states will add a little gas tax here and there to quietly fill empty coffers.

On Mortgage Lending:

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QRM's Missed Opportunities for Financial Stability and Servicing Reform

10/24/14

There are three major new regulations shaping the housing finance market:  QM (qualified mortgage), QRM (qualified residential mortgage) and Reg X.  QM is a safe harbor from the statutory ability-to-repay requirement that applies to all mortgages.  QRM is a safe harbor from the statutory risk retention requirement that applies to mortgage securitization.  And Reg X are the new mortgage servicing regulations.  It's important to understand how these three regulations interact and how they're going to affect the housing finance market.

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Flagstar Servicing Enforcement Order

09/30/14

The CFPB entered into a Consent Order with Flagstar Bank regarding its default mortgage servicing practices. This order is really important.

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Apple Pay and the CFPB

09/10/14

Apple Pay has been getting a lot of attention, and I hope to do a longer post on it, but for now let me highlight one possible issue that does not seem to have gotten any attention. I think Apple may have just become a regulated financial institution, unwittingly. Basically, I think Apple is now a "service provider" for purposes of the Consumer Financial Protection Act, which means Apple is subject to CFPB examination and UDAAP. 

Here's the argument. Be warned:  this is a romp through some legal definitions. 

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Pick up A Copy of Financial Justice: The People’s Campaign to Stop Industry Abuse (but first watch three cool videos here)

08/09/14

I recently read a review of the book Financial Justice: The People’s Campaign to Stop Industry Abuse, by economist Larry Kirsch and University of Utah professor Robert N. Mayer. The favorable review induced me to sit down and read the book, all in one sitting. This book about how grassroots efforts helped create the CFPB is a page-tuner.

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