The agency’s report on mortgage data submitted by lenders identified persistent disparities between white borrowers and minorities in denial rates and pricing. Some observers say the bureau should have been more explicit as the nation wrestles with systemic racism.
The bureau will detail how it will implement a Dodd-Frank Act provision requiring the agency to collect information on small-business lending in order to identify discrimination.
The financial industry has praised the measured approach taken in a pending regulation on permitted communications with consumers. But two recent complaints by the bureau against debt collectors reflect a potentially aggressive enforcement stance.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau says the proposal would increase access to credit, but consumer groups argue that it will encourage lenders to make high-cost loans while protecting them from legal liability.
A second-term Trump administration would likely continue its deregulatory efforts, focus on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's exit from conservatorship, and seek to facilitate fintech participation in the banking system.
Kathy Kraninger told the House Financial Services Committee that she supports proposed action to revamp the bureau's leadership framework following a major Supreme Court decision.
Members of the Senate Banking Committee took the agency’s leader to task for eliminating underwriting requirements for small-dollar lenders, which lawmakers said has left consumers more vulnerable during the pandemic.
Trump-appointed regulators gave the industry the green light to offer installment loans during the pandemic. But with concerns that the light could turn red in 2021, bankers remain extra cautious.
The agency sought to provide certainty that most actions from the past eight years remain in effect despite the ruling that the bureau's leadership structure is unconstitutional.
The agency delivered long-anticipated regulatory relief to the small-dollar loan industry by eliminating ability-to-repay requirements imposed under the bureau’s former director.
