On April 2, 2018, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued its semi-annual report to Congress. Along with the traditional review of Bureau activities for the 6-month period covered by the report, the report is most notable for the 4 legislative proposals offered by Acting Director Mulvaney in his introductory letter, each of which would serve … Continue Reading
Yesterday, the CFPB released a new Strategic Plan for fiscal years 2018 to 2022. The new Plan is a further demonstration of Acting Director Mulvaney’s efforts to reshape the Bureau. As the Acting Director says in the message that prefaces the Plan, “if there is one way to summarize the strategic changes occurring at the … Continue Reading
Today, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, sitting en banc, held that the structure of the CFPB is constitutional, overturning an earlier ruling by a panel of the Court that would have allowed the President to fire the CFPB director at will. The Court’s decision, finding that the Bureau’s structure is protected by well-established precedent … Continue Reading
On Friday, November 24, Richard Cordray left the CFPB — but not before appointing his Chief of Staff, Leandra English, as Deputy Director of the Bureau. Under the Dodd-Frank Act, the Deputy Director “shall . . . serve as acting Director in the absence or unavailability of the Director.” Hours later, President Trump named Mick … Continue Reading
Richard Cordray, the first and only Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, announced today that he will resign from the Bureau by the end of November–presumably in order to explore a run for governor in his home state of Ohio. Cordray, a Democrat, was appointed to serve as the agency’s first Director in a … Continue Reading
After months of speculation, the Senate voted tonight to strike down the CFPB’s controversial Arbitration Rule pursuant to the Congressional Review Act (CRA). Since the House voted to repeal the Rule back in July, the repeal now heads to the President, who is expected to sign it promptly. Once signed into law, the CRA repeal … Continue Reading
See our article in Law360, A Pro-Consumer, Pro-Arbitration Approach At the CFPB, regarding the CFPB’s arbitration rule, which Congress is weighing whether to overturn pursuant to the Congressional Review Act.… Continue Reading
Earlier this week, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau published a final rule substantially curtailing the ability of financial services providers and consumers to enter into voluntary pre-dispute arbitration clauses. The final rule, like the proposed rule that preceded it, would i) prevent financial services providers from including arbitration clauses in consumer contracts unless those arbitration … Continue Reading
On May 24, 2017, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit held en banc oral argument in the rehearing of PHH Corp., et al. v. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“PHH”). The lively oral argument extended well beyond the time originally allotted by the Court, as lawyers for PHH, the Department of Justice, and … Continue Reading
On March 17, 2017, the U.S. Department of Justice filed a Brief for the United States as Amicus Curiae in PHH Corporation v. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, 839 F.3d 1 (D.C. Cir. 2016), a case challenging the constitutionality of the CFPB’s single-director structure pending before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia … Continue Reading
See our article in Law360, Reconsidering PHH v. CFPB, regarding the D.C. Circuit’s decision yesterday to vacate an order finding that the CFPB’s structure is unconstitutional. We also covered the decision here.… Continue Reading
See our article in BNA’s Banking Report, Defining ‘Abusive’ Acts and Practices, which sheds light on the prohibition on ‘‘abusive’’ acts or practices in the Dodd-Frank Act. The article first appeared in BNA’s Banking Report on February 13, 2017.… Continue Reading
The transition to a new administration with the election of Republican Donald J. Trump as President, along with continued Republican control of the Senate and House of Representatives, promises to bring substantial change to each of the federal financial regulatory agencies. Changes in leadership at those agencies will likely result in substantial changes in policy … Continue Reading
As we noted in a recent client alert, a panel of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled earlier this year that the provision of the Dodd-Frank Act that established that the CFPB Director could be fired only “for cause” was unconstitutional. The Bureau filed a petition on November 18 asking the Court of Appeals … Continue Reading
House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) wrote a letter yesterday to CFPB Director Richard Cordray arguing that the D.C. Circuit’s recent opinion in PHH Corp. et al. v. CFPB requires the CFPB to abide by Executive Orders issued by the President. As the letter notes, the PHH decision characterized the Bureau “as an … Continue Reading
The D.C. Circuit Court’s decision in PHH Corp., et al. v. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau deals a major blow to the CFPB and represents a victory for financial services industry. Although the Court’s constitutional holding may dominate the headlines, the most significant aspects of the Court’s decision for the industry are the limits on the … Continue Reading
