Kate Berry

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau released fourth-quarter data last week showing a big drop in revenue from overdraft and nonsufficient-funds fees in 2022 compared with 2019 as big banks reduced or eliminated certain fees.

A Comerica Bank executive admitted to major failures in its handling of the Treasury Department's Direct Express program, including data and resolved fraud disputes sent to a vendor's office in Lahore, Pakistan, a "serious" contract violation.

With billions of dollars at stake, financial institutions weighed in on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's proposal to cut credit card late fees to $8, claiming, in part, that small banks and credit unions will suffer economic harm if the plan goes into effect as proposed. 

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau alleged in 2020 that Citizens failed to investigate certain fraud claims and billing disputes. A key allegation was that the bank required customers to provide a notarized affidavit to support a fraud claim.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau alerted staff this week that text messages had been sent to employee personal phone numbers claiming to be from Director Rohit Chopra.

Speaking before the International Swaps and Derivatives Association's annual meeting, Treasury Undersecretary for Domestic Finance Nellie Liang said liquidity and interest rate risk in the banking sector is being managed, but said fears of risk mounting in the nonbank sector are a source of concern.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said in a policy statement that banks risk violating the prohibition on "unfair acts and practices," by reopening a consumer's deposit account to process transactions after the account has already been closed.

Bank groups say the focus on capital rules in Federal Reserve Vice Chair for Supervision Michael Barr's report on Silicon Valley Bank are misguided. Others say he should have named names.

The rush to onboard millions of business depositors in such a short period can strain bank resources, lead to mistakes, and cause some banks to fall behind in conducting due diligence on risky customers.

The four agencies did not issue new regulatory guidance but instead cited previous concerns about the potentially harmful uses of automated systems — including AI — that could contribute to unlawful discrimination.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said it is still working to notify consumers about the Feb. 14 breach in which a bank examiner sent personal information on 256,000 consumers and supervisory information on 45 institutions to his email.

A former employee at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau sent data on 256,000 consumers and dozens of companies to their personal email account.

The Home Loan Bank System says it is working precisely as Congress intended it to, by lending to banks in stress. Critics say borrowings can spread undercapitalized banks' problems into the broader financial system.

Banks could be in for a long, slow trickle of bank failures and consolidation in the coming months and years, particularly if inflation persists and interest rates keep rising. A downturn in commercial real estate could add to banks' problems.

Carrie Tolstedt, the former Wells Fargo executive facing criminal charges for the phony accounts scandal, entered a "not guilty" plea at an arraignment hearing Friday afternoon.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued a broad policy statement on what constitutes an "abusive" act or practice. Industry has long sought to narrow the definition.

The regulation — mandated more than a decade ago to combat discrimination — will make lenders provide data on approvals and denials of small-business loan applications, the cost of credit and demographics of borrowers.

Speaking at a Consumer Bankers Association conference in Las Vegas, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau director Rohit Chopra said speedy communication channels represent "an opportunity and a risk."

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau plans to issue a small business data collection rule this week, more than a decade after it was mandated by the Dodd-Frank Act to collect data on all small business credit applicants.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau says the giant debt collector is a repeat offender that sued borrowers even when it lacked documentation about a debt. The company says it denies wrongdoing but agreed to the settlement.