Biden Urged to Support Consumer Protections During Pandemic As COVID-19 continued to spread across the country at alarming rates, CFA sent a memo to the Biden-Harris Transition Team last month outlining urgent consumer protections that are needed so that families can weather this unprecedented emergency. In particular, CFA’s memo notes that, due to underlying health … Continued

CFPB Urged to Strengthen Protections Against Discrimination Earlier this month, 48 consumer, civil rights, and public interest groups, including CFA, submitted comments in response to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) Request for Information (RFI) on the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) and Regulation B. The groups urged the Bureau to use its authority for … Continued

CFPB Pauses Anti-Consumer Reorganization Plan In the wake of the election and pushback from Senate Banking Committee Ranking Member Sherrod Brown, consumer groups, and even agency staff members, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced earlier this week that it would pause a plan to reorganize the Division of Supervision, Enforcement, and Fair Lending (SEFL) … Continued

OCC Acts to Embolden Predatory Lenders, Eviscerate State Rate Caps Late last month, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) finalized the “True Lender Rule,” which fundamentally calls into question the power of state governments to independently regulate interest rate limits and could unleash predatory lending in all 50 states. The rule would … Continued

Auto Insurers Reap Billions in COVID Windfall Profits, Regulators Urged to Provide Relief New evidence confirms that auto insurers have reaped tens of billions in windfall profits due to the reduction in crashes and miles driven during the Coronavirus pandemic, as CFA and Center for Economic Justice (CEJ) predicted earlier this year. In a letter … Continued

FCC Urged to Leave Reform of Section 230 of the Communications Act to Congress Section 230 of the Communications Act of 1934 is suddenly in the headlines after President Trump tweeted a call for its repeal last week when one of his tweets was flagged by the social media site as providing misinformation about COVID-19. … Continued

Proposed Federal Banking Rule Would Unleash Predatory Lending In All 50 States The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) has proposed a new rule that would encourage the spread of predatory loans by gutting the “true lender” doctrine that courts use to detect usury evasions, according to experts. In response, CFA joined with … Continued

Car Insurers Still Overcharging Consumers During Pandemic With the COVID-19 pandemic still ongoing, and claims remaining up to 50% below normal levels, CFA and Center for Economic Justice (CEJ) have called on insurers and insurance regulators to continue to provide ongoing auto premium relief. Having monitored crash data since March, the groups continue to find … Continued

AGs Challenge Rule Enabling Evasion of State Interest Rate Caps Attorneys General of California, New York, and Illinois challenged a new final rule from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) that encourages non-bank lenders to launder loans through banks so they can charge triple-digit interest rates. They argue that the OCC rule … Continued

Federal Regulators Weaken Payday Loan Rules As Americans struggle to cope with the devastating economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) took steps to weaken critically important consumer protections from high-cost, payday loans. The CFPB issued a new final payday loan rule earlier … Continued

Supreme Court Weakens the Independence of the CFPB Consumers were dealt a major blow late last month, but one that could have been a lot worse, when the U.S. Supreme Court issued a decision weakening the independence of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). In a 5-4 decision in Seila Law LLC v The Consumer … Continued

Trump Nominee to Head CPSC Faces Strong, Bipartisan Opposition Following a massive advocacy campaign by over 100 groups, public outrage online, and numerous hard-hitting questions by senators at her confirmation hearing, the nomination of Nancy Beck, the former chemical industry executive put forward by the Trump Administration to head the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), … Continued

State Insurance Commissioners Urged to Ensure 30% Paybacks; Some Insurers Lead the way In a study issued last month, CFA and the Center for Economic Justice (CEJ) documented that the typical COVID-19 auto insurance premium relief provided by insurers to date was half what it should be based on a new analysis of driving and car … Continued

DOT Enables Carmakers to Bypass Safety Rules Under a change formalized last month, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) will no longer require companies seeking federal safety standard exemptions to provide timely, complete information on their requests prior to posting them for public comment. This move comes on the heels of NHTSA’s denial of … Continued

Insurance Companies Graded on $6.5 Billion COVID-19 Premium Relief Policies Spurred by pressure from consumer advocates and their customers who are driving less due to COVID-19 and the Stay At Home orders that have dramatically changed Americans’ daily lives, insurers representing well over 80% of the auto insurance market in America have announced that they … Continued

CFA has begun compiling resources for consumers dealing with the Coronavirus pandemic. You can find those resources, and future updates, on a special section of the CFA website. Below you’ll find information and infographics on avoiding scams, food safety, and to child-proofing your home. CFA Offers Coronavirus Tips to Avoid Scams and Price-Gouging With concerns … Continued

As CARES Act Passes, Important Consumer Protection Measures Unaddressed Congress passed sweeping legislation last week, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), to address the economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic. While necessary to provide desperately needed funding to the health care system, to provide unemployment insurance to displaced workers, and to … Continued