Consumer lending

The latest consumer conditions study from the American Financial Services Association paints a less-than-rosy picture of how lenders expect the second half of the year to play out.

The online lender said its national bank will become the "primary originator," displacing the banks that are lenders of record. Loan buyers keep their role.

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.

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.

The private student loan market figures to benefit from Republican-led changes to the much larger federal program. But other consumer lenders could face a fallout as more Americans are forced to reconsider which debt payments to prioritize.

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.

The Federal Reserve's former top regulator said recent efforts to reform regulation and supervision have boosted executive compensation and share buybacks, not the broader economy.

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.

The 90-day-plus delinquency rate on student loans hit 10.3% in the first quarter, and New York Fed researchers warn that a second wave of defaults could be coming. Evidence is mixed regarding the likely impact on other consumer-lending segments.

Jay Plum, head of consumer lending at Fifth Third Bank, says artificial intelligence is fundamentally shifting relationships between banks and their third-party software vendors, allowing banks to do things on their own that they would previously rely on vendors to do for them, like identify risky loans and prepare for exams.

Adam Boyd, a veteran financial services executive with more than 25 years of experience, will head the growth of Rate's consumer lending platform.

Chicago-based mortgage lender Rate is partnering with Westlake Financial to offer in-app auto loans, advancing its push into product diversification and broader household financial services.

The New York City-based lender, whose roots lie in taxi lending, believes an expanded home-improvement loan operation will generate mid-teen loan growth this year.

Data breach extortion group ShinyHunters used social engineering to steal customer names, addresses and phone numbers from the blockchain lender.

A White House Council of Economic Advisers report published Tuesday found that the CFPB cost consumers between $237 and $369 billion since its creation, an analysis that consumer advocates and some financial academics say is flawed.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's complaint portal has been flooded in recent years, but corporate debt collectors, industry attorneys and consumer advocates question whether the bureau's efforts to reduce the volume will help consumers as much as it helps the firms they're complaining about.

Bowing to industry pressure, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is warning consumers with notices on its complaint portal not to file disputes about inaccurate information on credit reports, among other changes.

The San Francisco-based banking giant reported solid gains in credit card and auto lending as credit remained in check and quarterly operating costs declined from a year ago.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will face an existential crisis in 2026 between the Trump administration's efforts to shut down the agency and the employee union and consumer advocates who want to stop them.

The Massachusetts Democrat requested to see records related to second liens that banks were required to expunge per terms of the 2012 mortgage settlement.