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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The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has taken a hands-off approach to servicers during the pandemic. But with forbearance plans set to expire and President-elect Biden likely to appoint new CFPB leadership, companies lacking aggressive plans to help borrowers could face tougher enforcement.
December 8 -
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau alleges that the online lender made loans that exceeded a federal cap on interest rates for active-duty service members.
December 4 -
A new report from California shows that less-regulated mortgage lenders may be doing a better than banks of serving Black and Latino homebuyers. But consumer advocates say the data bolsters the case for tougher supervision of nonbanks.
November 30 -
The president-elect has legal backing to fire Director Kathy Kraninger thanks to a recent court ruling, but Republicans are prepared to challenge his ability to choose her successor.
November 23 -
As it attempts to craft policy on access to consumers’ financial account information, the agency is wading into a battle between those who want data to flow more freely and those who prioritize security.
November 12 -
The agency's "no-action" letter is intended to provide more regulatory certainty for the bank after it announced a short-term credit product available to checking account customers next year.
November 5 -
The agency said customers of SMART Payment Plan LLC could receive up to $7.5 million for statements that created a false impression about the service used for auto loans, but in a twist the bureau said it may pay most of the restitution.
November 4 -
A Democratic victory in Tuesday's election would likely produce new leaders at the CFPB and OCC who could take bank regulation in a sharply different direction. Here are some names potentially under consideration.
November 2 -
The agency’s final rule modernizing the Fair Debt Collection Practice Act limits calls to seven per week, but collectors won stronger protections from liability claims and other key changes to the original proposal.
October 30 -
The lawsuit filed on behalf of the National Association for Latino Community Asset Builders says the rule was based on “an invented evidentiary standard,” and failed to consider consumer protections mandated by Dodd-Frank.
October 29 -
The agency found a 40% error rate in the 2016 data submitted by the Seattle bank. In addition to the fine, the institution is required to improve its compliance systems.
October 27 -
A 2019 decision by Amy Coney Barrett, then a 7th Circuit judge, cited an earlier Supreme Court ruling suggesting a high bar for plaintiffs to claim harm. But other jurists have favored a less onerous standard.
October 27 -
The rulemaking is expected to draw enormous interest from both banks and third-party fintech providers.
October 22 -
The agency’s consolidation of supervision and enforcement policy into one office could compromise the independence of those deciding when to investigate alleged wrongdoing by banks and others, critics of the move say.
October 22 -
The agency confirmed that loans backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac can continue avoiding debt-to-income limits as the bureau completes a revamp of the Qualified Mortgage standard.
October 20 -
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's overhaul of its Qualified Mortgage standard is alarming free-market advocates who say it will precipitate a return to easy credit and higher defaults and could disproportionately harm minorities.
October 8 -
Kathy Kraninger’s job status would be in question if Joe Biden wins the White House. If the president is reelected, she may continue balancing a deregulatory agenda with her unexpectedly tough stance on enforcement.
October 2 -
The bureau released a five-year review of the so-called TRID regulation that found consumers benefited from being able to compare mortgage terms and costs, but the price tag for the industry was roughly $146 per loan.
October 1 -
The bank contends that the misconduct wasn't widespread, but a whistleblower letter unearthed by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau points to Chicago as a hotbed of customer abuse. "We are becoming a 'predatory' financial institution," the 2010 letter said.
October 1 -
Through Operation Corrupt Collector, the bureau is coordinating with over 50 other state and federal agencies to target firms for wrongdoing and inform consumers of their rights
September 29
