CFPBFacts.com Blog

  1. Oct
    11
    2016

    CFPB Structure Ruled Unconstitutional

    “Unconstitutionally structured.” A “gross departure from settled historical practice.” That’s how the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit recently described the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), the rogue federal agency led by Director Richard Cordray. The appellate court ruled that Director Cordray, who was appointed by the Obama administration, possesses too much power […]

  2. Aug
    19
    2016

    CFPB Leadership Shakeup Just Another Disappointment

    The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) recently experienced another shakeup in its leadership. After serving as the agency’s chief of staff, Chris D’Angelo is now the CFPB’s new head of supervision and enforcement—the third-most powerful position at the agency—beating out several experienced attorneys for the post. According to American Banker, the move has prompted serious concerns. […]

  3. Aug
    10
    2016

    CFPB Enforcement Based on “Junk Science”?

    The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has made it a priority “to pursue lenders whose practices discriminate against consumers.” In 2013, the CFPB and Department of Justice (DOJ) ordered Ally Bank to pay $98 million in fines for alleged discrimination against minority car owners. The CFPB-DOJ investigation concluded that Ally illegally charged African-American, Hispanic, and […]

  4. Jun
    23
    2016

    Gov’t Accountability Office: CFPB’s Got a Racism and Sexism Problem

    A new report from the Government Accountability Office is yet another black eye for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The report, titled “Consumer Financial Protection Bureau: Additional Actions Needed to Support a Fair and Inclusive Workplace,” surveyed all nonexecutive CFPB employees and held one-on-one interviews with 120 staff. The findings are brutal. About 25% of […]

  5. Jun
    02
    2016

    CFPB Criticizes Cash Advances, CFPB Employees Use Cash Advances

    The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) just introduced new regulations governing payday loans—small, short-term loans also referred to as “cash advances.” Since its inception in 2011, the CFPB has vilified the payday loan industry. The federal agency often claims that payday loans lead consumers into “debt traps,” as they often carry annual interest rates of more […]

  6. Mar
    01
    2016

    CFPB’s Revolving Door Keeps Spinning

    Another of the Obama administration’s top officials at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau quit the agency this month and went to work on Wall Street. Meredith Fuchs served as the acting deputy director at the CFPB before leaving to join Capital One, one of the top 10 largest banks in the United States. Fuchs now […]

  7. Feb
    12
    2016

    Fed Chief Doesn’t Even Know She’s in Charge of the CFPB

    During testimony last week before the House Financial Services Committee, Federal Reserve Board Chairwoman Janet Yellen appeared to have no idea has control of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.  Yellen was asked during her semi-annual testimony before the committee if the Federal Reserve Board approves the budget of the CFPB. Throughout the entire line of […]

  8. Jan
    28
    2016

    Will a Federal Court Rein in the CFPB’s Overreach?

    Can the CFPB ignore decades of precedent from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and fine a company 18 times more than its own in-house counsel sought? This week, The Wall Street Journal published a profile of a federal court case accusing the agency of “brazen disregard for judicial authority, agency precedent and […]

  9. Dec
    22
    2015

    Congress Investigates CFPB’s Consumer Data Collection

    While the National Security Agency’s data collection practices are the subject of heated debate, most Americans have no idea the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is quietly assembling a massive stockpile of consumer financial records. Though it’s still a relatively young federal agency, the CFPB has already collected information on 87 percent of the credit card […]

  10. Nov
    23
    2015

    Emails Unveil Cozy Ties between CFPB and Activists

    It’s no secret the CFPB has close ties to consumer activist groups such as the Center for Responsible Lending—many of the agency’s first staffers were former CRL employees. But newly-released emails confirm the Center for Responsible Lending had a heavy hand in crafting the CFPB’s rule to impose limits on short-term loans. As POLITICO reports, […]