Payday lending

Under Richard Cordray, the consumer bureau had questioned whether affiliations between small-dollar lenders and sovereign tribes are exempt from state laws, but observers say the agency’s acting chief has signaled a more welcoming approach.

Ken Rees at Elevate Credit calls payday lending "the roach motel of financial products" and says his alternative has helped subprime borrowers get back on their feet.

California officials had accused Advance America of wrongly assessing Department of Motor Vehicles fees on its payday loans to skirt the state's interest rate cap.

The eventual pick will likely encounter heavy scrutiny from senators and, if confirmed, would take the helm of an agency still defined by turmoil nearly seven years after its creation.

The League of Southeastern Credit Unions is working with legislators in both states to find ways to protect consumers from predatory lenders.

As it gives its small-dollar lending regulation another look, the agency must consider borrowers who have no other credit options.

The legislature has passed a bill that would allow lenders to make installment loans that, in many cases, would be more costly than payment loans. If Gov. Rick Scott signs it, Florida would become the first state to pass a law designed to blunt the impact of the CFPB’s crackdown on high-cost consumer loans.

As it gives its small-dollar lending regulation another look, the agency must consider borrowers who have no other credit options.

The interim head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said the agency may allow prudential regulators to take the lead on more supervisory matters to cut down on duplication.

“Why we think we know better or how to protect consumers in your state surprises me,” acting CFPB Director Mick Mulvaney told a group of state attorneys general. “I don’t think we’ll being do much of that anymore.”

Comptroller of the Currency Joseph Otting said reform of Community Reinvestment Act regulations is a "key element" of how regulators aim to recalibrate rules a decade after the financial crisis.

The clock starts ticking this week on a busy agenda of financial services priorities on Capitol Hill, including passing reforms to Dodd-Frank, overhauling the housing finance system and confirming key regulators.

The war of words between acting Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Mick Mulvaney and Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., the agency's architect, is escalating.

The Pew Charitable Trusts has released a set of 10 standards for banks and credit unions that want to to offer small loans to subprime customers. Among its ideas: keep monthly payments at or below 5% of the borrower’s paycheck and make loans available quickly through digital channels.

The Pew Charitable Trusts has released a set of 10 standards for banks and credit unions that want to offer small loans to subprime customers. Among its ideas: keep monthly payments at or below 5% of the borrower’s paycheck and make loans available quickly through digital channels.

The acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Tuesday had his first taste of the withering congressional criticism endured by his predecessor on trips to Capitol Hill.

Delaying the rule's effective date or refocusing it on disclosure requirements are among the options for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's acting director to ease its impact on the industry.

A Georgia Supreme Court case sheds light on the lengths that the often assailed industry has gone to shape policy outcomes. It also raises the question of whether, in evaluating industry-funded research, it is enough to assess the published study itself, or if it is necessary to dig deeper.

Lobbyists for the payday loan industry are getting a warmer reception in state capitals in 2018 than they did last year. One of their key arguments is that the federal crackdown on payday loans, which is now on hold, requires a response from the states.

Top Democrats in the House and Senate sent a letter to Mick Mulvaney on Wednesday questioning his decision to delay the implementation of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s payday loan rule.