The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is seeking to protect borrowers from unscrupulous loan servicers. The goal is laudable, but the agency's methods are misguided.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said some non-profit hospitals are failing to provide assistance to low-income consumers, while landlords may be illegally charging fees to pay rent through online portals.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said charges for cash-back services are contributing to the lack of access to finance in underserved areas.

A federal judge excoriated banks for inflating data in a challenge to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's data collection on small-business loans.

The proposed Inclusion of TANs within the CFPB's Section 1033 rule is a mistake that threatens to undermine the security of financial transactions and undercut consumer choice and competition.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has moved to ban medical debt from appearing on credit reports, but its analysis relies on a sliver of consumer data from more than a decade ago.

Four companies are fighting CFPB enforcement actions by claiming the agency cannot be funded by the Federal Reserve, which has not been profitable since 2022. The consumer bureau calls the new legal theory "meritless."

Acima offers lease-to-own plans on consumer items, but the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and New York officials are calling those plans credit. The battles, playing out in separate courts, could trigger more expansive protections for customers.

Sellers of contract-for-deed home financing deals must provide disclosures, financing terms and assess a borrower's ability to repay, the CFPB said in an advisory opinion.

With the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau joining the growing list of top enforcement agencies recognizing the value in whistleblowing, companies should take heed and avoid any provisions in employment and severance agreements that in any way impede or penalize whistleblowers.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has received more than 11,000 comment letters on its proposal on personal financial data rights, but banks say the agency should ensure that more fintech partners take on their fair share of the rule's compliance burden.

Nine federal regulatory agencies are requesting comment on a rule that would create data standards for supervisory information collected and submitted to financial regulators.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau reversed itself, declaring that earned wage access programs, which conduct no underwriting and charge no interest, are loans. This is a disservice to the industry and consumers.

A federal appeals court ruled that the Equal Credit Opportunity Act prohibits not just outright discrimination but also the discouragement of prospective applicants for credit.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has proposed requiring that mortgage servicers exhaust all efforts at assisting struggling borrowers before moving ahead with a foreclosure.

Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Board Members Jonathan McKernan and Rohit Chopra agreed on the value of clearer bank-fintech guidance to enhance regulatory clarity, foster innovation and ensure fair competition in the financial services sector.

The focus should be on the millions of Americans whose credit reports contain serious errors, and who are increasingly desperate for relief.

Ficklin has been the CFPB's only fair lending director since 2011, establishing the office under Elizabeth Warren and pushing fair lending enforcement beyond mortgages into other financial products such as credit cards.

The Consumer Federation of America and Consumer Reports sent a letter to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau urging it to require banks to search for less discriminatory models. Later the same day, the CFPB issued a report saying it's doing just that.