The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is challenging a recent appeals court decision that its funding through the Federal Reserve Board violates the separation of powers doctrine. That ruling "threatens to inflict immense legal and practical harms" on financial regulation, the CFPB says.

Legal experts are gaming out the various options for the CFPB after a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit ruled on Oct. 19 that the bureau's funding is unconstitutional.

Regulators are raising alarm over the design applications that can manipulate consumers into buying products or services or compromise their personal information.

An appeals court ruling last week found that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's funding structure violates the Constitution, but another court filing shows how the agency might fight back.

"The main threat we see is coming from the CFPB, where the single director can act as judge, jury, and executioner, all in one," said Bob Broeksmit, president of the Mortgage Bankers Association

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's rules and enforcement actions to date could be open to legal challenges by banks and other companies after a three-judge panel deemed the agency's payday lending rule unconstitutional because of the way the agency is funded, legal experts say.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit overturned a lower court's ruling, declaring the agency's funding structure and its 2017 payday lending rule invalid.

A federal judge found that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau overstated the costs and understated the negative impact of exempting 1,700 financial institutions from reporting Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data.

The trade groups, including the American Bankers Association, allege the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau exceeded its authority by claiming discrimination in any financial product violates the federal prohibition on "unfair, deceptive or abusive acts or practices."

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's latest request for information floats the idea of an "auto-refi" and potentially extending pandemic-related options like forbearance for permanent industry use.