Consumer Protection

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued a proposed rule seeking to ban the use of certain legal waivers and fine print in financial contracts that have the effect of forcing consumers to choose between participating in the financial system or giving up their rights, including those guaranteed by the Constitution. According to the bureau, the proposal is meant to stop companies from using “take-it-or-leave-it” clauses that limit fundamental freedoms, including those that censor certain types of speech. Read on »

With a new Congress in session and a new presidential administration set to take office, industry trade organizations are clamoring to make their voices heard at the federal level. The nation’s largest trade group representing consumer banks is advocating for a laundry list of reforms to consumer financial protection rules and regulations while the country’s largest credit union advocacy group is concerned with preserving its members’ tax-exempt status. Read on »

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) filed suit against Capital One, N.A., and its parent company, Capital One Financial Corp., for allegedly cheating millions of consumers out of more than $2 billion in interest. Read on »

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued a proposed rule seeking to ban the use of certain legal waivers and fine print in financial contracts that have the effect of forcing consumers to choose between participating in the financial system or giving up their rights, including those guaranteed by the Constitution. Read on »

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau recognized Financial Data Exchange as the first standard-setting body to be tasked with establishing data privacy requirements under the bureau’s final rule on personal financial data rights under Sec. 1033 of the Dodd-Frank Act. Read on »

Data privacy is a major concern for the real estate finance sector, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s final rule implementing Sec. 1033 of the Dodd-Frank Act is perhaps the most significant regulation to ever address such an issue. That is why Dodd Frank Update is launching the “Data Privacy Vault” to hold all our coverage of every volley in the ping-pong match between the finance industry and regulators over how to protect consumers’ sensitive data. Read on »

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau filed a lawsuit against Vanderbilt Mortgage & Finance, Inc., a subsidiary of Berkshire-Hathaway, accusing the nonbank company of predatory lending practices that set families up for financial failure when purchasing manufactured homes. Read on »

The Senate Banking Committee will have a new leadership makeup in the next Congress. Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) will move from the ranking member role to the chairmanship, and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) will become the new committee’s new ranking member. Read on »

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau recognized Financial Data Exchange as the first standard-setting body to be tasked with establishing data privacy requirements under the bureau’s final rule on personal financial data rights under Sec. 1033 of the Dodd-Frank Act. Read on »

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued a final rule to prohibit medical debt from being included on credit reports used by lenders to make credit determinations. The rule will make amendments to the implementing rule for the Fair Credit Reporting Act, Regulation V. The CFPB said it expects the rule to lead to approximately 22,000 additional, affordable mortgage loan approvals annually. Additionally, Americans with medical debt on their credit reports could see their credit scores increase by an average of 20 points. Read on »