Tag: CFPB

  • CFPB Details “Abusive” in Policy Statement and Speech

    Posted by

    Dalie Jimenez

    In a few hours, I'll have the pleasure of hosting CFPB Director Rohit Chopra for a virtual talk at UCI Law (today at 12pm PDT, 3pm PDT). You can still join us by registering for the Zoom link here.

    Director Chopra will be discussing the new policy statement on the CFPB's "abusive" authority that the Bureau issued a few minutes ago. The statement "summarizes precedent and establishes a framework to help federal and state enforcers identify when companies engage in abusive conduct."

    The full policy statement is available here and will be published in the Federal Register with a 90-day comment period that closes on July 3. I imagine we might be talking more about it and its implications here on CreditSlips in the coming days.

    Cfpbtalk

  • Foreclosure Fraud Settlement: The Empire Strikes Back (or Why Are Republicans So Obsessed with Backdoor Cramdown?)

    Posted by

    Adam Levitin

    It's not surprising to see the banks and their supporters on the Hill pushing back on the proposed Foreclosure Fraud settlement term sheet. (See here and here and here).  There seem to be three major lines coming out of the banks:

     (1) It's "backdoor cramdown," and the agencies shouldn't be pursuing a policy rejected by Congress.  

    Thus, House Republicans wrote to Treasury Secretary Geithner that "The settlement agreement not only legislates new standards and practices for the servicing industry, it also resuscitates programs and policies [namely bankruptcy cramdown] that have not worked or that Congress has explicitly rejected."  These House Republicans want to know:  "What specific legal authority grants federal and state regulators and agencies the power to require mortgage principal reductions when the House and Senate have voted down such proposals?"  .  Similarly a coterie of bank-friendly pundits chimed in calling this sub rosa cramdown.  

    (2) CFPB has no business being involved given that it doesn't have a director.  

    This has to be read between the lines as a thinly veiled Elizabeth Warren witch hunt.  At least one commentator was upfront about that in the American Banker.   

    (3) The settlement could negatively affect the safety and soundness of the banks.  

    Let me address all of these points.  There's a lot of willful confusion about this term sheet and what it is.  

    (more…)

  • Elizabeth Warren and the CFPB

    Posted by

    Adam Levitin

    Some of our readers might have noticed that we at Credit Slips have remained remarkably silent about the question of who should head the CFPB. Other bloggers on consumer finance issues have not. Shahien Nasiripour and other HuffPo bloggers (here, e.g.) and Simon Johnson (and here) have declared the nomination of Elizabeth Warren to be a progressive litmus test for the administration. Andrew Leonard and Felix Salmon, among others, have particularly interesting discussions about Professor Warren and some of the other potential nominees. The silence has not been for lack of strongly held opinion, but out of a sense that our opinions would be completely discounted because of our various relationships with Professor Warren and inconsistent with the nature of the blog.

    (more…)

  • The CFPB Auto Dealer Exemption–A Reminder of the Why We Should be Worried

    Posted by

    Adam Levitin

    It looks like auto dealers are going to get their carve out from the CFPB.  I can't think of a policy argument for exempting auto dealers; maybe someone will provide one in the comments.  The used car dealer has long been the poster child for sharp dealing.  But it's worth reviewing the consumer protection problems with auto dealers, so that we realize what practices are being exempted from potential future regulatory oversight.  

    (more…)