Kate Berry

Financial firms claim a proposal by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau would restrict lending, raise borrowing costs and result in more denials of credit to consumers.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said in an annual report to Congress that unpaid medical debt is plagued by inaccuracies, and that consumers are often faced with opaque pricing and uncertain insurance coverage.

Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Sandra Thompson is pushing for a quick launch of pilot programs at the 11 Federal Home Loan banks to help underserved communities after its report this week prescribed major reforms to the system.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency says it wants to more closely tether Federal Home Loan bank advances to housing and community development. Doing so will first involve clearly defining the banks' mission through regulation.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau released a report last week examining state CRA laws that have a more expansive scope and are more tightly integrated in the state licensing process.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau found that more consumers are being charged late fees, while determining that the average cardholder carried $5,288 in total credit card debt last year.

The Department of Justice alleged that Ameris failed to open a single bank branch or provide home loans in minority neighborhoods in Jacksonville, Florida. Attorney General Merrick Garland said that many similar redlining investigations are currently underway.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Justice Department warned banks and other lenders that credit applicants cannot be rejected due to their immigration status.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau alleged in a lawsuit that the nonbank lender violated a 2019 consent order and submitted incorrect information in 2020.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau plans to hire 75 employees in its enforcement division as it boosts investigations against "large market actors," according to an internal email obtained by American Banker.

In a case challenging the funding of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, justices across the political spectrum questioned where — and whether — the Constitution placed limits on Congress' power to delegate funding for federal agencies outside of annual appropriations.

The high court will hear oral arguments on Oct. 3 on whether the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's funding violates the Appropriations clause. A key issue is whether parameters can be placed around Congress' authority over the federal purse strings.

Public policy experts debated the effect of rising rates on the mortgage market, the impact on homebuyers and ways that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could exit conservatorship at the National Mortgage News Digital Mortgage Conference.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued a mortgage report based on statistics from 2022 and is looking for ways to simplify the refinance process while considering changes to mortgage servicing standards.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau proposed major changes to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, including eliminating all medical debt from credit reports. But banks and financial firms said the plan would upend 50 years of how courts have interpreted the law.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued guidance on the use of artificial intelligence in credit underwriting, saying that creditors are relying too heavily on a CFPB checklist and sample forms when they should provide specificity to explain why a consumer is denied credit.

The head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau defended the agency and its mortgage rules in particular on the 15th anniversary of the collapse of Lehman Brothers.

A district court judge ruled that Congress did not give the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau broad authority to look for discrimination, putting a major dent into the bureau's efforts to apply anti-discrimination principles to non-lending products such as advertising.

The settlement resolves allegations dating to 2014 and covers 85 minority employees who alleged they were paid lower wages than their white counterparts and faced retaliation.

A former insider wants the Federal Home Loan Bank System's regulator to require its 11 regional banks to balance members' liquidity needs with the system's public mission to fund affordable housing and community development programs.