On November 7, 2023, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) announced a new proposed rule wherein providers of digital wallets and payment apps would be defined as “Larger Participants” and would become subject to supervision by the CFPB, as well as need to comply with consumer financial services laws and regulations. Comments to this Larger Participant rulemaking are due by January 8, 2024.
Junk fees – those hidden and bogus charges that have found their way into a wide variety of transactions – are on consumers’ minds. Based on what they’ve told us, junk fees are on their last nerve, too. After receiving more than 12,000 comments about how those fees impact consumer spending and affect honest businesses, the FTC announced on October 11, 2023, a proposed Rule on Unfair or Deceptive Fees.
On Sept. 21, 2023, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) officially announced it is considering a rulemaking to address several consumer reporting topics under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). Under the process established by Congress in the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996 (SBREFA), the CFPB is required to consult with representatives of small entities likely to be affected directly by the regulations.
On October 3, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court held oral argument in Community Financial Services Association of America Ltd. v. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. This case has potentially widespread implications for the consumer finance industry, as it challenges the constitutionality of the CFPB’s funding mechanism.
On November 2, the CFPB issued a report on several states’ community reinvestment laws. The report focused on how much outstanding mortgage debt banks hold in the residential mortgage market: in 1977, “banks held 74% of outstanding mortgage debt. By 2007, this share had declined to just 28%.”
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