Earlier today the Trump administration’s nominee to lead the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB” or “Bureau”), Jonathan McKernan, testified before the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs. McKernan was most recently a member of the Board of Directors of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and has also worked in private practice, in Congress,
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Mayer Brown 2024 Consumer Financial Services Highlights
Mayer Brown serves as a trusted advisor to our clients in the consumer financial services industry, a role that we cherish and constantly strive to improve.
In this report, we provide a snapshot of our 2024 consumer financial services representative engagements and how we helped industry participants navigate the terrain. It also provides links to…
Update on Maryland Licensing for Loan Assignees
There were positive developments last week in connection with the recently announced licensing requirements for assignees of residential mortgage loans and installment loans in Maryland — a proposed legislative fix, an extended enforcement deadline, and a clarifying exception from the requirement.
As we discussed in our Legal Update last month, the Maryland Office of Financial…
New Acting Director Installed at the CFPB
On Friday, the Trump administration installed Russell Vought, the recently-confirmed head of the Office of Management and Budget, as the new acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB” or “Bureau”). Vought replaced Scott Bessent who served as the acting director of the Bureau for less than a week. Vought quickly issued a notice…
1071 Small Business Data Collection Rule Stayed (Again)
As we reported earlier this week, the CFPB’s new Acting Director and Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent, has directed Bureau employees not to make any filings or appearances in litigation, other than to seek a pause in the proceedings. This directive played out almost immediately this week—including in a case before the Fifth Circuit brought by…
Acting Director Installed at CFPB: What to Expect in the Months Ahead
Yesterday, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB” or “Bureau”) announced that Scott Bessent, the recently confirmed Treasury secretary, is now the acting director of the Bureau. The announcement comes after the Trump administration fired former Director Rohit Chopra over the weekend.
Unlike the prior transition to a Trump administration, when then-Director Richard Cordray stayed on…
Fifth Circuit Vacates the FTC’s CARS Shopping Rule
On January 27, 2025, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals held that the Federal Trade Commission’s rule to curb certain practices in the automobile dealer industry was invalid on procedural grounds because the agency did not issue an advance notice of proposed rulemaking.
On January 4, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) published a final…
CFPB Takes a Stance on Home Equity Contracts
On January 15, 2025, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau took three coordinated actions related to home equity contracts or investment transactions. Although none of the CFPB’s actions are binding, and may not reflect the new administration’s views, the CFPB seeks to educate consumers and hints at ways that regulators could address those those transactions moving…
CFPB Sues Mortgage Lender Under Ability-to-Repay Non-QM Rules
What constitutes a “reasonable” ability-to-repay determination when making a mortgage loan? Since the CFPB’s Ability-to-Repay rules became effective in 2014, the clearest answer to that question is that making a qualified mortgage (“QM”) complies (or is presumed to comply) with those rules. However, mortgage lenders serving the non-QM market have few specifications for how they…
New Action on No-Action Letters – CFPB Begins Accepting Applications Under Updated No-Action Letter Procedures
The US Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is giving no-action letters a second chance. On January 8, 2025, the CFPB issued a policy statement setting forth new procedures for companies to request supervisory and enforcement relief through no-action letters. The policy statement was issued at the same time as a related policy statement setting forth procedures…