Terrell McSweeny has announced that she will step down after four years as a commissioner for the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). With only two commissioners in place, McSweeny’s resignation will leave FTC acting chairman Maureen Ohlhausen as the agency’s sole leader.   Although four new commissioners have been nominated and received approval from the Senate Commerce Committee in February, they have yet to be confirmed by the full Senate.

A lawsuit filed against the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) alleges that the bureau’s rule regulating the payday lending industry violates multiple federal statutes and fundamentally misses the point of why consumers seek short-term, small-dollar loan options in the first place.  The complaint, filed by two trade associations representing non-bank lenders specializing in small-dollar loans, asserts previously broached arguments premised on the purported unconstitutionality of the bureau’s structure – a concept which was shot down in a majority ruling by the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals in January.

The National Settlement Services Summit (NS3) comes home to the Midwest for the 14th year of the annual conference that brings all parties of the real estate transaction together in one place. The conference is slated for June 6-8 in Detroit at the Detroit Marriott at the Renaissance Center.

The Volcker Rule Regulatory Harmonization Act, which would give the Federal Reserve Board of Governors sole authority to make rules under Section 619 of the Dodd-Frank Act, recently passed the House with significant bipartisan support.

The House recently passed a pair of bipartisan measures tweaking Federal Reserve stress tests and the process of determining which financial institutions should undergo the most rigorous testing. H.R. 4061, otherwise known as the “Financial Stability Oversight Council Improvement Act,” and H.R. 4293, also known as the “Stress Test Improvement Act of 2017,” seek to address concerns expressed on both sides of the political aisle.

President Donald Trump recently announced two new nominees to join the Federal Reserve Board of Governors. If confirmed by the Senate, one of the nominees would become vice chairman to Fed Chairman Jerome Powell and the other would occupy the Fed board seat reserved for community bankers.

Adding to the growing list of Republicans who will not return to Congress for another term, Speaker of the House Paul Ryan recently announced that he will leave Washington once his term is up in November. The news prompted some high-ranking officials in the financial services industry to note their appreciation for Ryan’s work during his nearly 20-year congressional career.

Doubling down on one of four recommendations included in his first semi-annual report to Congress as acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), Mick Mulvaney emphasized to the House Financial Services Committee that he believes the bureau should be put under congressional appropriations.

Data security, payday lending and fiscal conservatism were among the key topics highlighted during Mick Mulvaney’s appearance before the Senate Banking Committee on Thursday to discuss his first semi-annual report to Congress since becoming acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.