Ian McKendry

Cybersecurity and breach notification procedures have caught the most public attention following the massive hack at Equifax, but lawmakers are also interested in the accuracy of credit reports.

Congress may soon try to limit the personal identifiable information that companies and the government can collect on consumers based on their reaction to the massive data breach at Equifax.

The National Association of Home Builders is backing off long-held support for the mortgage interest deduction in hopes that the Trump administration can deliver on its promise of lower taxes.

Though FHFA Director Mel Watt stopped short of saying he would break with a Treasury agreement that forces all profits of the GSEs to go to the government, he emphasized that it couldn’t continue indefinitely.

The groups argue that the CFPB did not properly conduct a cost-benefit analysis of the rule banning mandatory arbitration agreements and that the final product will harm, not help, consumers.

Some in the housing industry expressed concern that the plan would double the standard deduction to $24,000 for married couples and $12,000 for individuals—a move that could dramatically lessen the impact of the mortgage interest write-off.

Equifax observed an increasingly well-worn ritual of scandal-ridden firms by jettisoning CEO Richard Smith: apologize, promise to do better in the future, and sacrifice your top executive in the hopes it will ward off action by Congress and regulators.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., is broadening her probe into the data breach to look at whether the company should have disclosed the breach sooner and if it plans to claw back compensation.

Democrats have strived to paint recent scandals at Wells Fargo and Equifax as prime examples of why a regulatory rule banning mandatory arbitration agreements should be upheld, but Republicans are not wavering in their campaign to overturn it.

The hearings before the Senate Banking Committee have high stakes for both companies, as lawmakers are expected to ask the CEOs whether they should be fired.

Lawmakers like Sen. Tim Scott may feel differently about some elements in a Senate regulatory relief bill depending on whether CFPB Director Cordray is remaining in office until his term expires in July.

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Richard Cordray allegedly misled Congress about the agency's investigation into Wells Fargo's illegal sales practices and may have rushed a settlement with the bank, according to a report by the GOP.

Senate Democrats' legislative bid to reform the credit reporting industry is tempered and balanced, according to analysts, which could help it gain traction in the GOP-controlled Congress.

The bill would create a federal obligation for credit reporting agencies to offer free credit freezes and prevent them from selling consumer information while a freeze is in place.

A mishmash of lawmakers from different parties and committees are wading into the aftermath of Equifax’s megabreach, with some using it to advance their policy agendas while others are calling for possible criminal prosecution.

Senate Finance Committee leaders sent a letter to Equifax CEO Richard Smith scrutinizing the scope of the company's data breach and its response.

Lawmakers signaled Monday that Congress will likely have a swift and powerful response to revelations that the credit reporting company Equifax was hacked, exposing 143 million people to identity theft.

In order to compensate victims of the breach, Equifax is offering free credit monitoring services that include a mandatory arbitration clause, a measure Democrats were highlighting to lobby support for the CFPB's rule banning such clauses.

The need to raise the U.S. debt limit, pass a budget, provide relief for victims of Hurricane Harvey and enact flood insurance and tax reform will dominate the remaining legislative calendar this fall.

A credit service provider agreed to exit the industry on Wednesday after a yearlong lawsuit with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.