Sky Blog
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) recently announced that it will adjust its supervision program by rescheduling a portion of its planned examination work. Instead, the agency will conduct prioritized assessments, which it describes …
The 2008 financial crisis triggered a surge of interest in regulating consumer financial markets. The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 created the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to safeguard consumer interests. Since 2011, the CFPB …
For many years, law and economics scholars, as well as politicians and regulators, have debated whether corporate criminal enforcement deters too much beneficial corporate activity or lets corporate criminals off too easily. This debate has recently grown more polarized: On …
In our memo last year, we acknowledged that it was close to impossible to predict the likely impact that the newly elected Trump administration would have on white-collar and regulatory enforcement. (White Collar and Regulatory Enforcement: What to Expect …
In the movie Office Space, the (pretty) good guys hatch a plan to divert to themselves fractions of cents that their employer, Initech, has apparently been overcharging its customers by rounding billings upward. Had any customer discovered the scam, he …
Since the CFPB issued its Arbitration Rule in July, most commentators have focused on ways the rule may be blocked from going into effect. Chief among these is the possibility that Congress will vote to overturn the rule under the …
An August 21 blog post, “Shareholders Deserve Right to Choose Mandatory Arbitration,” by Professor Hal S. Scott, argues that the introduction of mandatory arbitration clauses into corporate charters would be good for stockholders. Nothing could be further from the truth.…
Republicans on the House Financial Services Committee, led by Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-TX), approved their “Financial CHOICE Act” (FCA) legislation on a party-line 34-26 vote on May 4, clearing the way for consideration on the House floor in the coming …
Many expect Donald Trump’s inauguration as U.S. president and Republican majorities in both houses of the U.S. Congress will result in a revised financial regulatory framework. Preliminary indications from the Trump transition team have signaled substantial changes may be in …
The election of Donald J. Trump as president and continued Republican control of both the US Senate and House of Representatives may provide the new president the opportunity to immediately remake the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) after he takes …
President-Elect Trump’s transition website promises to “dismantle the Dodd-Frank Act and replace it with new policies to encourage economic growth and job creation.” For those who wonder what that might mean in more detail, we believe that Rep. Jeb Hensarling’s …
This is the fourth in a series examining the increased regulatory scrutiny on new and innovative financial technologies (“FinTech”).[1]
This update considers the initiatives of two federal regulatory agencies—the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (the “OCC”) and …
U.S. regulators, led by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), are starting to examine sales practices at large and mid-size banks. They will likely first focus on whether banks have opened accounts for customers without consent as …
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (the “CFPB” or “Bureau”) made headlines in FinTech on October 24, 2016. First, the Bureau released its first-ever Project Catalyst report on promoting consumer-friendly innovation (the “Report”). The Report summarizes the work conducted by Project …
In a September 22, 2016, post on this blog, available here, Professor Wulf Kaal asked in the title to his piece, “What Happens When Technology Is Faster Than the Law?” He noted that while “innovation driven by science and …
On October 11, 2016, a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit held that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (the “CFPB”) is “unconstitutionally structured” because its authority is vested in a single appointee who can be …
“Nice merger you’ve got here. It would be a shame if anything was to happen to it.”[1]
In antitrust and related areas of economic regulation, private leveraging is risky business. Large firms that use substantial market power in one …
On July 28, 2016, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB” or “Bureau”) issued its outline of proposals under consideration for the regulation of debt collection. This 117-page release, entitled “Small Business Review Panel for Debt Collector and Debt Buyer Rulemaking: …
On July 28, in conjunction with a field hearing on debt collection, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB” or the “Bureau”) released an outline of proposals under consideration to regulate the debt collection industry (the “Outline”).[1] Released as part …