Highlight
Herring, other AGs, seek continued consumer protection for service members
Fairfax News, October 23
In a letter to the CFPB and Director Mulvaney, Herring and a bipartisan coalition of 32 other attorneys general urge the CFPB to reconsider its reported decision to stop examining lenders to ensure they are complying with the MLA.
More Coverage:
Jackley calls for Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to continue protecting military servicemembers | KELO South Dakota
State AGs Press CFPB on Military Lending, Model Disclosures | Credit Union Times
Underwood Pushes For Military Lending Act | The Post-Journal
Top Stories
Guest Opinion: Proposition 111 will ease veterans’ burden
Valley Courier, October 26
Army veteran and State Senator Larry Crowder speaks out in support of a referendum to ban predatory lending on Colorado’s November ballot.
Repost: Pueblo Chieftain
Payday Loans May Stay Available Even to Those Who Can’t Repay
October 26, Bloomberg Law
The CFPB said in an Oct. 26 statement that it’s looking to revise two crucial elements of the payday lending rule: federal requirements for payday lenders to determine borrowers’ ability to repay and limits on consecutive loans.
CFPB makes it official: Changes to payday rule coming in new year
October 25, American Banker
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said that it will propose changes in January to the underwriting provisions of the agency’s rules for payday lenders as well as to when those rules take effect. Current acting Director Mick Mulvaney is pursuing two goals: water down the forthcoming ability-to-pay requirements for payday lenders, and extend the compliance date — now August 2019 — to give the agency and industry enough time to incorporate the changes.
CFPB’s softer stance on payday lenders, military member scams
October 25, American Banker
Consumer Financial Protection Agency Acting Director Mick Mulvaney is winding down some of the efforts his predecessor worked hardest on: enforcement of payday and fair lending rules and the Military Lending Act. Reporter Kate Berry shares the latest.
U.S. consumer watchdog dilutes penalty against payday lender: sources
October 24, WHBL
Mick Mulvaney, the head of the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) on Wednesday fined a payday lender $200,000 for wrongly hounding borrowers but the penalty fell short of the $3 million his predecessor was seeking
More Coverage:
Tenn. Payday Lender To Pay $232K In CFPB Debt Threat Deal | Bloomberg Law
CFPB fines Tennessee payday lender over claims it misled borrowers | American Banker
Elected officials demand more oversight to protect military families from financial abuse
KUSI News, October 24
California Attorney General Xavier Becerra and Congressman Scott Peters said Wednesday that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is abandoning its obligations to enforce a federal law that protects military families from lending abuses by banks, payday lenders and other creditors.
CFPB Staff Said to Rebel Over Racist Blog Posts by Eric Blankenstein
BlackPress USA, October 23
According to a published report this month and subsequent research unearthed by Allied Progress, Blankenstein wrote that calling someone the N-word didn’t make them a racist. The New York Times later uncovered Blankenstein’s 2016 defense of racist birther conspiracy theorists. Mick Mulvaney brushed aside calls by consumer advocacy organizations and civil rights groups for the ouster of Blankenstein and a return to the CFPB’s robust fair lending enforcement, writing, “I am not going to let any outside group dictate who works here or how I structure the Bureau.”
CFPB, Consumer Groups in Communications Breakdown
Bloomberg News, October 23
There hasn’t been much trust between consumer advocates and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau since President Donald Trump’s team took over the agency last year. Former CFPB Director Richard Cordray used to meet at least quarterly with consumer groups during his tenure to check in and trade ideas about how best to address problems bubbling up in the market. Those regular check-ins have ended under acting Director Mick Mulvaney.