Kate Berry has covered the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau for American Banker since 2016. She joined the publication in 2006 covering mortgage lending and the financial crisis. Berry also has covered big banks including Bank of America, J.P. Morgan Chase and Wells Fargo. She has won five awards from the Society of American Business Writers and Editors, and has worked at several news organizations including the Orange County Register, the Los Angeles Business Journal and the Associated Press. Berry began her career as a clerk at the New York Times.
-
A federal judge ruled that the Trump administration's attempt last year to halt funding for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau was unlawful and unconstitutional. Two other judges have issued similar decisions.
September 28 -
The share of American households considered "financially vulnerable" rose to 17%, the highest level since at least 2018, according to the nonprofit Financial Health Network.
September 24 -
Commercial banks have increasingly tapped the Federal Home Loan Bank System for liquidity as rising Treasury yields have made the market for deposits more competitive.
September 16 -
The USA Patriot Act passed on an overwhelming bipartisan basis in the wake of the 9/11 attacks, overhauling banks' involvement in anti-money-laundering efforts.
September 10 -
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said it will stop publishing consumer complaint narratives, citing concern that the information is one-sided.
August 14 -
Mark Paoletta, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's chief legal officer, has taken over as the agency's acting director. Russell Vought's term ended Aug. 1.
August 3 -
Christopher Peterson, a law professor at the University of Utah and former senior advisors at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, is the latest top hire for a Democratic state stepping up consumer protection.
July 28 -
Brian Johnson, President Trump's nominee to lead the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, navigated a somewhat contentious Senate Banking Committee hearing dominated by Democratic opposition but without giving away specific plans he has for the agency.
July 23 -
The Senate Banking Committee will hold a hearing Thursday on whether to confirm Brian Johnson, a former Capital One executive and deputy director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in Trump's first term to lead the agency permanently.
July 22 -
At a House hearing last week, GOP lawmakers asked Russell Vought, the acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, for advice on how to craft legislation to permanently change the CFPB's authority. The hearing highlighted a consensus among Republicans that administrative policy rollbacks are not enough.
July 20 -
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is overhauling its consumer complaint portal after receiving 6.6 million complaints last year, more than double the 3.2 million in 2024, citing abuse by credit repair firms and social media influencers.
June 25 -
Life insurers have offloaded long-term policyholder liabilities into offshore reinsurance and captive subsidiaries, raising concerns over state oversight of opaque investment vehicles and whether insurers have adequately funded claims.
June 22 -
The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals halted the Trump administration's attempt to fire nearly two-thirds of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's workforce, upholding a March 2025 injunction.
June 21 -
Federal prosecutors arrested and charged Mahender Makhijani, 44, with orchestrating a $100 million bank fraud against Western Alliance Bancorp.
June 11 -
The White House has nominated Brian Johnson, the former CFPB deputy and a veteran Capitol Hill staffer, to permanently lead the bureau.
June 10 -
AB - Policy & RegulationAll 11 Democrats on the Senate Banking Committee are backing a bill that would restore and lock in funding for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
June 5 -
New York borrowers want the Supreme Court to rehear a case requiring banks to pay interest on mortgage escrow accounts, due to a split among appellate courts.
June 3 -
An audit by the Office of Inspector General concluded that information security programs at both the Federal Reserve Board and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau are no longer effective due to critical vulnerabilities.
June 1 -
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is ending remote work and ordering its entire staff to report to a new Washington, D.C., headquarters five days a week.
May 28 -
Housing advocates and compliance firms are suing to block a rule from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau that they say guts the Equal Credit Opportunity Act.
May 27
