Kate Berry has covered the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau for American Banker since 2016. She joined the publication in 2006 covering mortgage lending and the financial crisis. Berry also has covered big banks including Bank of America, J.P. Morgan Chase and Wells Fargo. She has won five awards from the Society of American Business Writers and Editors, and has worked at several news organizations including the Orange County Register, the Los Angeles Business Journal and the Associated Press. Berry began her career as a clerk at the New York Times.
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Rohit Chopra, the director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, described many charges by banks, credit unions and fintechs as "junk fees" and said they often exceed the cost of providing the service. Several trade groups called Chopra's claims "distorted and misleading."
By Kate BerryJanuary 26 -
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is in the early stages of developing a rule that could give bank customers far more say in how their information is being accessed by fintechs and data aggregators. What the final rule looks like will depend on how much consumers already know about the way their data is collected, stored and sold.
By Kate BerryJanuary 25 -
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has opened an inquiry into whether the largest issuers are engaging in unfair or anti-competitive practices. JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup and the rest of the top eight control 70% of the $1 trillion credit card market.
By Kate BerryJanuary 20 -
The Federal Reserve Board would become far more diverse if Sarah Bloom Raskin, Philip Jefferson and Lisa Cook are confirmed by the Senate. Jefferson and Cook are respected economists seen as likely to get the nod, but Republicans will challenge Raskin's assertions that bank regulators can play a vital role in combating climate change.
By Brendan Pedersen and Kate BerryJanuary 14 -
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is more than a year away from issuing a proposal on consumers’ right to control the flow of their data between banks and third parties such as fintechs, according to people familiar with the bureau’s thinking. Many previously expected a plan to arrive this spring.
By Kate BerryJanuary 12 -
Hundreds of bankers and credit union executives are seeking exemptions and changes to a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau proposal to collect race, ethnicity and gender information about small-business borrowers that they describe as burdensome and unworkable.
By Kate BerryJanuary 11 -
The CFPB sued three executives of a Colorado debt collection firm for allegedly selling debts to third-party collectors who threatened consumers with arrest, jail or lawsuits in order to get paid.
By Kate BerryJanuary 10 -
Biden administration appointees moved quickly to highlight climate change risks and unwind Trump-era regulatory relief and housing finance measures. These regulators and lawmakers will have a seat at the table as the progressive shift in banking policy continues.
December 29 -
The consumer bureau asked for public feedback about payment platforms as part of a focus on the Silicon Valley giants’ financial services aspirations. But comment letters so far have been dominated by users complaining that they lost money on the big-bank-owned peer-to-peer network.
By Kate BerryDecember 20 -
Sandra Thompson has won praise from homeownership advocates for suspending a fee imposed on borrowers that was meant to recoup Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's pandemic-related losses, among other actions she reversed. On Tuesday, President Biden said he will nominate her to be the permanent director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency.
By Kate BerryDecember 14 -
If the Democratic majority on the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.’s board succeeds in advancing a review of bank merger policy — over the disapproval of Chair Jelena McWilliams — progressive regulators could be emboldened to push for more substantive reforms.
By Brendan Pedersen and Kate BerryDecember 10 -
The banking industry, which often questions aggressive moves by the agency, urged the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to level the regulatory playing field between the financial and technology sectors.
By Kate BerryDecember 9 -
Rohit Chopra, director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, pledged to make it easier for state attorneys general to draw on the Consumer Financial Protection Act in filing lawsuits against corporate wrongdoers.
By Kate BerryDecember 7 -
In a semiannual report on trouble spots in the banking sector, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency raised concerns that banks are taking on too much risk in pursuit of earnings growth.
By Kate BerryDecember 6 -
The guessing game is over about President Biden’s pick for Federal Reserve chair, but several names are in the mix for three additional vacancies on the board, including vice chair for supervision.
By Kate Berry and Joe AdlerDecember 5 -
Rohit Chopra, the new director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, announced enhanced monitoring of overdraft programs and said the agency plans to crack down on executives responsible for conduct that violates consumer laws.
By Kate BerryDecember 1 -
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s new director, Rohit Chopra, has settled a lawsuit that said a task force assembled by his Republican predecessor was illegal. Here's what it means for his ability to advance a more pro-consumer agenda.
By Kate BerryNovember 30 -
The White House is considering nominating Richard Cordray, who led the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau from 2013 to 2017, as the Federal Reserve's next vice chairman of supervision, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal.
By Brendan Pedersen and Kate BerryNovember 30 -
After Democrats failed last year to rally support for a federal 36% limit, House and Senate proponents are trying to capitalize on the momentum from state rate caps that recently passed on a bipartisan basis.
By Kate BerryNovember 21 -
The consumer bureau is asking for comment on whether the rule implementing the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act is meeting its stated goals of detecting discrimination in mortgage lending.
By Kate BerryNovember 16

















