On June 10, the CFPB moved to reopen its 2021 enforcement action against the final remaining defendant in a student debt relief case involving over $3.4 million in alleged illegal advance fees. The Bureau, under Acting Director Russel Vought, told the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California it will proceed against the individual defendant following a four-month stay.Continue Reading CFPB Moves Forward with Debt Relief Suit Over $3.4M in Alleged Advance Fees
On May 30, the CFPB and a national pawn store operator filed a joint status report in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas announcing that they have reached an agreement to resolve a 2021 Bureau lawsuit alleging violations of the Military Lending Act (MLA) and a 2013 CFPB consent order. The suit alleged that the pawn store operator and its subsidiary issued thousands of high-interest loans to active-duty servicemembers and their families in violation of federal law.Continue Reading CFPB and Pawn Store Operator to Settle MLA Suit
On May 23, the CFPB notified a Kentucky federal court that it now considers its own 2023 open banking rule “unlawful” and plans to set the rule aside. The Bureau announced its intent to seek summary judgement against the rule, which was issued under Section 1033 of the Dodd-Frank Act to promote consumer-authorized data sharing with third parties.Continue Reading CFPB Seeks to Vacate Open Banking Rule
On May 27, the CFPB filed a notice of dismissal with prejudice in its lawsuit against a lease-to-own fintech provider. The lawsuit, filed in July 2023, alleged that the company’s rental-purchase agreements violated several federal consumer financial laws, including the Truth in Lending Act (TILA), the Electronic Fund Transfer Act (EFTA), the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), and the Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA).Continue Reading CFPB Drops Lawsuit Against Lease-to-Own Fintech Following Adverse Credit Ruling
On May 21, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee granted a joint motion by the CFPB and DOJ to terminate a 2021 redlining settlement with a regional bank, vacating the consent order and dismissing the case with prejudice. The original lawsuit, filed in October 2021, alleged violations of the Fair Housing Act (FHA) Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) and Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA).Continue Reading DOJ and CFPB Terminate $9 Million Redlining Consent Order with Southern Regional Bank
On May 14, the CFPB issued a proposed rule to rescind recent amendments (here, here, and here) to its nonbank supervisory program. The amendments were designed to expand and formalize the Bureau’s process for subjecting nonbank covered persons to supervision under the Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA). Under the CFPA, the CFPB is authorized to supervise a nonbank covered person if it has reasonable cause to determine if the nonbank covered person was engaged in financial services-related conduct that posed a risk to consumers. Among other things, the amendments introduced a mechanism for the Director to publicly release final decisions and order.Continue Reading CFPB Proposes to Rescind Risk-Based Supervision Rulemaking
On May 15, the CFPB rescinded its May 2022 interpretive rule that had expanded state enforcement authority under Section 1042 of the Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA). The Bureau now maintains that the previous guidance misread the statute and improperly extended state authority beyond what Congress intended.Continue Reading CFPB Narrows State Enforcement Powers by Rescinding 2022 Interpretative Rule
On May 15, the CFPB issued an amended consent order against an international remittance provider, reducing its civil penalty from $2.025 million to $44,955. The order alleges violations of the Electronic Fund Transfer Act (EFTA), its implementing Regulation E, and the Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA).Continue Reading CFPB Reduces Civil Penalty in Settled Remittance Enforcement Action
On May 15, the CFPB withdrew three Biden-era rulemaking proposals, including a December 2024 proposal to regulate data brokers as consumer reporting agencies under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), a January proposal to extend Regulation E to emerging payment systems such as those used in video games and esports betting, and a proposed interpretive rule targeting restrictive and potentially unlawful terms in consumer contracts.Continue Reading CFPB Withdraws Guidance and Proposed Rules on Data Broker, Video Game Payments, and Contract Clauses
On May 9, the U.S. Department of the Treasury announced that President Trump intends to nominate Jonathan McKernan to serve as the Undersecretary of Domestic Finance. McKernan had been awaiting Senate confirmation to lead the CFPB, but the White House confirmed his nomination will be rescinded as the administration continues to pursue structural change to the Bureau.Continue Reading CFPB Director Nominee to Move to Treasury Finance Role
On May 12, the CFPB formally withdrew nearly 70 guidance materials—including policy statements, advisory opinions, circulars, and interpretive rules—through a Federal Register notice issued by Acting Director Russell Vought. The move stems from an internal memo circulated last month to identify guidance that allegedly imposed unlawful compliance burdens or exceeded statutory authority.Continue Reading CFPB Withdraws Dozens of Guidance Documents as Part of Deregulatory Push