Kate Berry

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau proposed steps to ease Home Mortgage Disclosure Act requirements, just days after announcing it was retiring a platform to let users analyze raw mortgage data.

The Department of Financial Services has created a statewide financial protection division focused on corporate compliance and consumer issues, in line with steps taken by New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

Director Kathy Kraninger said the agency will emphasize a confidential supervisory process instead of just doling out public enforcement actions. But skeptics worry this will let companies escape punishment.

The rule requires disclosure of exact fees but institutions can estimate pricing under an exception that will expire in 2020. The CFPB is seeking comment to prepare for that deadline.

A panel of federal judges determined that Think Finance and an online tribal payday lender must comply with state interest rate and licensing laws.

Under a new policy, a company subject to a civil investigative demand will learn from the agency about what conduct the probe is targeting and what legal provisions the firm may have violated.

The lawmakers are questioning the agency about its oversight of student loan servicers involved in a federal loan forgiveness program.

The proposed rollback of underwriting requirements for small-dollar lenders could redefine a legal doctrine that governs rules affecting other companies as well.

Assemblywoman Monique Limon is in the “early stages” of exploring how to create a state-level Consumer Financial Protection Bureau as part of a broader push for more consumer protection for state residents.

The state's financial regulator says Fast Money Loan charged consumers interest rates and fees above the state's usury cap, and operated unlicensed storefronts.

The bureau's director, Kathy Kraninger, faced a barrage of criticism from Senate Democrats on the agency's lack of enforcement actions, a reversal on Military Lending Act examinations and changes to the payday loans rule.

The 2020 budget would add the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and FSOC to congressional appropriations, charge lenders for FHA upgrades and require universities to have skin in the game on student loans.

Following a congressional mandate, the consumer bureau solicited public feedback on Property Assessed Clean Energy loans, which have been deemed risky by the Federal Housing Administration.

The bureau wants to further remove the threat of legal liability for firms that test products benefiting consumers, but the attorneys general say the agency cannot provide immunity from state law.

In a major victory for small-dollar lenders, the agency plans to rescind underwriting requirements that were the centerpiece of the rule drafted by a Democratic appointee.

Absent some policy change, nearly a third of the loans backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could be in violation of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's Qualified Mortgage rule in two years.

Chris D’Angelo, the CFPB's associate director of supervision, enforcement and fair lending, is leaving the bureau after eight years to become a chief deputy attorney general in New York state.

In her New Year’s message, CFPB Director Kathy Kraninger called on the agency to ensure that consumers are treated fairly and that “the marketplace is innovating.”

The biggest question is whether new CFPB Director Kathy Kraninger will deviate from the pro-industry policies of her predecessor, or bring continuity.

Democrats on the House Financial Services Committee are expected to shine a spotlight on Trump-appointed regulators, but that light might shine brightest on one agency in particular.