Dave Uejio, acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, promised to protect veterans from predatory loans and to crack down on companies that improperly garnish stimulus checks or mistreat struggling borrowers.
The agency has amassed more in fines than it has returned to wronged customers. With Democrats now in power, some hope the bureau will allocate the unused money more aggressively.
The OCC had hit James Strother and other executives with civil charges a year ago in connection with the bank's phony-accounts scandal. His monetary penalty is lower than what the agency had first floated.
Now that Democrats have won control of the Senate following the Georgia runoffs, experts say tax increases, progressive regulators and stricter congressional oversight await. Still, there could be some positives for banks, too.
The agency said Omni Financial in Las Vegas illegally required service members to designate a portion of their paychecks to repay loans, depriving of them of other payment options.
The Securities and Exchange Commission last week accused Ripple of breaking securities laws, raising questions about the future of banks' ties with the company.
The company’s noninterest expenses are expected to rise more than $500 million next year, largely because of a revamp of risk management and internal controls mandated by regulators.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has taken a hands-off approach to servicers during the pandemic. But with forbearance plans set to expire and President-elect Biden likely to appoint new CFPB leadership, companies lacking aggressive plans to help borrowers could face tougher enforcement.
President-elect Joe Biden will likely have to contend with a Republican-controlled Senate. That could have important implications for his approach to financial services policy.
