Kate Berry

In a 5-4 Supreme Court decision two years ago, the bureau’s rulemakings survived intact. But a pair of pending cases that challenge the agency's funding through the Federal Reserve are again seeking to invalidate every action the CFPB has taken since 2010.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is hiring more enforcement attorneys, building out its capacity for data collection related to fair-lending exams.

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Rohit Chopra is pushing the envelope of the bureau's power and jurisdiction in untested ways. More companies are disputing the CFPB’s allegations, refusing to pay large fines or admit wrongdoing, and vowing to defend themselves in court. 

Borrowers must be protected against discrimination at all steps of the credit process — including after they’ve already been granted credit, the regulator affirmed.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau filed more actions against redlining and discriminatory practices in 2021 and is skeptical that that predictive analytics will reduce bias.

Bankers object to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's request on “exploitative junk fees” that produce billions in income for financial institutions, arguing that banks are compliant with statutes that require fees be disclosed to customers.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will conduct supervisory exams of nonbank fintech companies that pose risks to consumers as Director Rohit Chopra seeks to level the regulatory playing field with supervised banks.

The core function of the Federal Home Loan Bank System — advances to member institutions — plummeted 20% last year to $350 billion, its lowest level in 15 years. That erosion of purpose is emboldening critics, who say the Home Loan banks need to change or face irrelevance.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will potentially be banning business practices, forcing the divestiture of business lines and working with state agencies to revoke licenses, Director Rohit Chopra said Monday. He called out five big banks by name for repeatedly crossing legal lines.

In an update to an exam manual, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau says racial or other bias associated with a wide range of financial products — not just credit — is illegal and subject to CFPB enforcement actions.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau took a step toward addressing appraisal bias with a proposal that kicked off an interagency rulemaking on automated valuation models, which use reams of data to assess property values.

"In many cases, these are fees where there's not even a service provided or where the bank or financial institution doesn't even do any work,” Rohit Chopra of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said Thursday in public remarks.

Rohit Chopra, the director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, has cautioned banks, credit unions and fintechs about fair-lending violations that may stem from reliance on artificial intelligence. His comments threaten to discourage financial firms from using the technology to crunch nontraditional data about borrowers, experts say.

The Federal Reserve, FDIC, OCC and CFPB — increasingly under the leadership of Democratic appointees — are gearing up to regulate cryptocurrency, modernize the Community Reinvestment Act and give consumers more control of their personal data. Here's a look at the policy changes they're mulling.

Rohit Chopra, the director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, described many charges by banks, credit unions and fintechs as "junk fees" and said they often exceed the cost of providing the service. Several trade groups called Chopra's claims "distorted and misleading."

The Federal Reserve Board would become far more diverse if Sarah Bloom Raskin, Philip Jefferson and Lisa Cook are confirmed by the Senate. Jefferson and Cook are respected economists seen as likely to get the nod, but Republicans will challenge Raskin's assertions that bank regulators can play a vital role in combating climate change.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is more than a year away from issuing a proposal on consumers’ right to control the flow of their data between banks and third parties such as fintechs, according to people familiar with the bureau’s thinking. Many previously expected a plan to arrive this spring.

Biden administration appointees moved quickly to highlight climate change risks and unwind Trump-era regulatory relief and housing finance measures. These regulators and lawmakers will have a seat at the table as the progressive shift in banking policy continues.

Sandra Thompson has won praise from homeownership advocates for suspending a fee imposed on borrowers that was meant to recoup Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's pandemic-related losses, among other actions she reversed. On Tuesday, President Biden said he will nominate her to be the permanent director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency.

The banking industry, which often questions aggressive moves by the agency, urged the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to level the regulatory playing field between the financial and technology sectors.