Payday Reform News February 17

Highlight

Local advocates continue to push back against state level efforts to allow predatory lending, while linking their state legislative work to the need to defend consumers and the CFPB at the national level:

February 10, New York Daily News: Cage the sharks circling consumers
Andy Morrison of the New Economy Project defends the CFPB and warns against a bill introduced in the New York general assembly that would let check cashers make usurious loans. 

Top Stories 

February 17, Lexology: The State AG Report Weekly Update February 16, 2017 
In a weekly roundup of Attorney General goings-on, Lexology describes the Georgia AG’s enforcement action against payday lender Western Sky.
More coverage:
Southern Political Report: Attorney General secures big win for Georgians

February 16, Consumer Affairs: Military personnel speak up for beleaguered consumer agency
Senior military leaders appeared at a hearing of the Senate Armed Services Personnel Subcommittee to sing the praises of the CFPB, telling lawmakers it has served to protect and educate military families.

February 16, Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise: Catherine Rampell: GOP moves to fleece consumers
Washington Post columnist Catherine Rampell defends the CFPB against attacks, particularly from Hensarling.

February 15, Reuters: IMPACT ANALYSIS: U.S. consumer bureau remains an enforcement power despite uncertain future
Reuters warns financial firms to continue complying with regulations, as the CFPB continues to enforce them. Article includes some detail on enforcement action against Moneytree.

February 15, LA Progressive: Trump’s Epic Bait-and-Switch
Progressive blog covers Trump’s ties to Wall Street and the attacks on the CFPB.

February 15, The State Journal: West Virginians warned of attempts to alter Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is threatened by possible reorganization brought on by the lobbying of special interest groups. The warning came during a Feb. 15 news conference in Charleston from leaders from the West Virginia Council of Churches, the Partnership of African American Churches, the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy and the host of the news conference, the Covenant House.

February 15, Lexington Herald Leader: Lawmakers want to boost fines for rogue payday lenders by 500 percent
Kentucky lawmakers are moving to increase fines for payday lenders who violate consumer protections laws. Bills in the House and Senate would increase the fines from between $1000 and $5,000 to between $5,000 and $25,000.
An editorial supporting the legislation: Toughen fines for rogue lenders
More coverage:
Insider Louisville: Lawmakers want to boost fines for rogue payday lenders by 500 percent

February 14, The Pitch The FTC says Joel Tucker defrauded his brother’s payday-lending company
Article details Joel Tucker's woes after using his brother's payday lending business to sell phony debt to debt collectors.

February 13, Ahwatukee Foothill News: Federal consumer bureau has fought scams that hurt people
Opinion piece by Diane Brown of Arizona PIRG defends the CFPB.

February 13, JDSupra: Georgia AG Follows Familiar Pattern; Settles Suit Against California Payday Lender for Alleged Rent-A-Tribe Scheme
On February 9, the Attorney General’s Office for the State of Georgia (Georgia AG) announced that it reached a settlement and entered into a consent order with a California-based online lender relating to an alleged “rent-a-tribe” scheme. 
More coverage:
Legal Newline: Western Sky, affiliates to provide $40 million in monetary relief to Georgia consumers

February 11, USA Today: Barney Frank worries weakening Dodd-Frank may lead to another crash
A Q&A shows Barney Frank supporting some changes in Dodd-Frank but fearing major rewrites and changes in structure for the CFPB will do major harm.

February 11, Black Enterprise: Trump’s Roll Back on Dodd-Frank Could Cripple Black Businesses and Borrowers
Article makes the case that predatory lending disproportionately impacts communities of color and rolling back Dodd-Frank would eliminate protections.

Coverage of CRA resolution introduced to overturn CFPB prepaid card regulation

February 17, The National Law Review: President Trump Signs First Congressional Review Act Disapproval Resolution in 16 Years
This article reporting on Trump’s signing of a CRA resolution on an SEC regulation mentions that the prepaid card rule could be next.

February 16, Dodd-Frank Update: Bill introduced to repeal CFPB prepaid card rule
“Rep. Roger Williams (R-Texas) introduced Feb. 14 a bill to repeal the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) final rule amending Regulation E and Regulation Z to include prepaid cards under the Electronic Fund Transfer Act and the Truth in Lending Act. This is the first CFPB rule to be subjected to the Congressional Review Act (CRA) and was introduced the day President Donald Trump signed the repeal of an SEC rule through the CRA process.

 February 15, Gloucester Times: Prepaid card debate illustrates fight over consumer bureau
Article discusses Republican move to veto the CFPB’s recently written rules regulating prepaid cards in the context of broader efforts to weaken the CFPB.
Repost: EnidNews.com

February 15, PayBefore.com: Consumer Groups Cry Foul as House Joins Senate Push for Prepaid Rule Repeal
Blog lays out push for prepaid rule veto including perspective from both consumer advocates and industry.

February 14, Tribune Review: Republican senators start attack on consumer financial watchdog
The resolution to overturn the prepaid card rule is listed here among the various attacks on the CFPB.

February 14, Common Dreams: #ResistTrumpTuesdays: Protect Our Protections on Valentine’s Day
This blog promoting a focus on consumer protections for #ResistTrumpTuesdays includes a section on the prepaid debit card issue.

February 9, Salon: Republican congressmen fast-track bill that would repeal consumer protections from overdraft fees
“Republicans are moving to scrap consumer protection rules that prevent the prepaid debit card industry from collecting tens of millions of dollars in overdraft fees. The resolution, introduced by Sen. David Perdue, R-Georgia, would undo the new rules package crafted by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) in October.”

February 4, Everything Lubbock: Senate Republicans Aim to Gut Debit-Card Safeguards
" A group of seven Senate Republicans are moving to gut consumer protections for prepaid debit cards before they’re enacted. The rules, aimed at providing many of the same safeguards that consumers take for granted with credit and debit cards, would require fee disclosures, fraud protections and limits on overdraft fees.