A payday lender is accused of stealing millions from customers. Trump’s CFPB is now letting them off the hook.
April 20, Vox
In the agency’s first report to Congress since Mick Mulvaney took the helm in November, the CFPB said it is dropping sanctions against NDG Financial Corp, a group of 21 businesses that the agency, under President Obama, had accused of running “a cross-border online payday lending scheme” in Canada and the United States.
Progressive groups protest payday loan conference at Trump resort
April 19, Tampa Bay Times
Several progressive groups are protesting today outside Trump National Doral Golf Club, where the payday lending industry is hosting its annual conference.
More coverage: Baptist News Global, WSVN, WGCU, Miami New Times, NPR
About Mulvaney’s idea of a ‘joke’
April 19, The Alliance Review
Enforcement actions have ground to a halt as the agency conducts a survey ordered by Mulvaney, to assess the “burdens” the CFPB’s investigative process places on financial services firms. As of last week, the CFPB had not recorded a single enforcement action begun since Trump named Mulvaney acting director on November 27, 2017.
Payday Lenders Wage Wars Against Consumers, Regulation
April 18, The Washington Informer
Consider the payday lending industry and its multi-pronged efforts to oppose reasonable regulation. Three recent developments unmask a determination that is as deceitful as the little loans it sells that set up deep debt traps for borrowers.
Payday lending fight moves to federal level
April 18, The Republic
But the protections we fought so hard to maintain at the state level could soon be gutted by Congress. Even as we worked to hold the line on interest rates in the state, some members of the Indiana delegation voted to pass House Resolution 3299, a “rent-a-bank” bill that would allow banks to partner with non-bank lenders or debt collectors and skirt our state laws.
A good consumer agency is a weak consumer agency, says Trump’s consumer watchdog
April 17, LA Times
Mulvaney laid out a four-point plan for Congress to improve the CFPB by making it less effective and less independent.
Payday Lenders Are Working Hard to Keep Texas the ‘Wild West’ in Trump Era
April 17, Texas Observer
Texas is often called the “Wild West” of predatory lending, an anything-goes wonderland where payday and auto title loan businesses can charge low-income people vertigo-inducing fees whenever they desperately need a cash advance to, say, keep the lights on or make rent. Last week, payday lending groups filed a federal lawsuit in Austin that aims to ensure Texas remains a profitable place for the industry.
CFPB’s Mulvaney attempts to defang watchdog agency
April 14, The Roanoke Times
Put another way, Mulvaney wants to overrule the bureau’s intended mission — to be a fierce consumer advocate — and instead create a lapdog agency that will play nice with the very financial institutions that pushed us into the Great Recession.
Soft-pedaling on payday debt collectors tramples consumer rights
April 14, The Hill
The bureau recently dropped an investigation against National Credit Adjusters, a debt collection company that buys payday and other small dollar loans from lenders around the country and on tribal land. The action, to say the least, is a worrying sign. The payday lending industry is notorious for trapping borrowers in cycles of growing debt, fueled by extreme interest rates up to 300 and 500 percent. People in communities of color often are targeted and their wellbeing is affected by this industry, further widening the economic disparities they suffer.
Under Trump, a voice for the American consumer goes silent
April 14, Pharos-Tribune
In the 135 days since the Trump administration took control of the nation’s consumer watchdog agency, it has not recorded a single enforcement action against banks, credit card companies, debt collectors or any finance companies whatsoever.
Assembly speaker defends free trip to London with lobbyists
April 14, The Journal Times
Wisconsin Assembly Speaker Robin Vos is defending his free trip to London with lobbyists, travel said to have contributed to the resignation of his counterpart and close friend in Ohio.
More Coverage: One Wisconsin Now