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.
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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.
By Kate BerryOctober 3 -
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.
By Kate BerryOctober 1 -
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.
By Kate BerrySeptember 28 -
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.
By Kate BerrySeptember 27 -
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.
By Kate BerrySeptember 21 -
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.
By Kate BerrySeptember 19 -
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.
By Kate BerrySeptember 12 -
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.
By Kate BerrySeptember 10 -
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.
By Kate BerrySeptember 6 -
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.
By Kate BerryAugust 28 -
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau plans to propose rules to require that data brokers comply with the Fair Credit Reporting Act to limit data from being sold for any reason other than what Congress has specified as having a "permissible purpose," such as credit underwriting.
By Kate BerryAugust 15 -
The board of the Home Loan Bank of San Francisco chose not to renew Teresa Bryce Bazemore's contract that ends in 2024, and has initiated a search for a new CEO.
By Kate BerryAugust 4 -
A Texas judge dealt the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau a setback that has changed the bureau's calculus for furthering its near-term agenda. But an ambitious Supreme Court could also call all of the bureau's final rules into question.
By Kate BerryAugust 4 -
Rohit Chopra, the director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, weighed in on credit card late fees, an upcoming open banking rulemaking and the chaos that could result if the Supreme Court defunds the agency.
By Kate BerryJuly 20 -
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau celebrates its 12th anniversary on Friday, prompting Director Rohit Chopra to discuss the agency's work including a proposal to set credit card late fees at $8 and the upcoming Supreme Court case that could defund the bureau.
By Kate BerryJuly 20 -
A former employee of The Change Company, which is the largest non-traditional mortgage lender in the U.S., claims in a new lawsuit that the firm mischaracterized the race, ethnicity and income of its borrowers. The company says the allegations, which relate to the representations it makes to be certified as a community development financial institution, are meritless.
By Kate BerryJune 23 -
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued two reports analyzing banking and consumer credit trends in the South, where many rural areas are considered "banking deserts."
By Kate BerryJune 21 -
Republican members of the House Financial Services Committee blasted Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Rohit Chopra as an 'extortionist' and labeled his efforts to rein in discrimination as 'McCarthyism' during a four-hour hearing Wednesday.
By Kate BerryJune 14 -
Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, lambasted the Federal Reserve for increasing the dominance of "too big to fail" banks and failing to rein in systemic risk. He asked whether the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency is a better regulator than the Fed.
By Kate BerryJune 13 -
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Rohit Chopra faces tough questions next week testifying before the Senate Banking Committee and House Financial Services Committee.
By Kate BerryJune 8















