Data security

A bill by Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., would give the CFPB authority to oversee cybersecurity efforts at the credit bureaus.

The agency's vote Thursday threatens to block many of the industry's communications with customers, though banks did win one concession.

The watchdog’s report — requested by Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md. — called for civil money penalty authority and better supervision to guard consumer data.

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.

Fixing the housing finance system is "the last piece of unaddressed business from the financial crisis," according to a summary of to-do items released by the Banking Committee's chairman.

A security lapse left millions of mortgage records exposed online without proper data protections, according to security researchers.

“We have actually discouraged banks from innovating,” FDIC Chairman Jelena McWilliams said in announcing a move that other agencies have made.

The Trump administration is making more than 80 recommendations to encourage financial innovation within a regulated space, including endorsing the creation of a federal fintech charter.

Credit reporting firms with significant operations in New York will face new cybersecurity and registration requirements to stave off concerns related to a breach of Equifax's systems last year.

Startup Block66 is using blockchain to create a mortgage audit trail for fraud prevention purposes and also plans to enable trading of securities lenders can use to increase their liquidity.

Ginnie Mae is looking to start a pilot program to securitize digital mortgages as early as 2019, but issuers would not be able to commingle loans using traditional paper files in those deals.

The agency’s acting director uses a reply letter to the senator not to answer her questions but to underscore that Congress lacks the ability to compel answers to such questions.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren released a scathing report Wednesday on Equifax's handling of the data breach last year, part of an effort to gain backing for legislation to rein in the credit bureaus.

The two senators are set to introduce a bill that would force such firms to pay $100 per customer whose personal information was compromised.

Calls for less reliance on credit bureaus and Social Security numbers for verification are leading many to envision a future of identity on a distributed ledger.

CFPB Director Richard Cordray is using the Equifax breach to suggest the CFPB be given power to examine credit reporting agencies for potential cybersecurity lapses.

Richard Smith came to Capitol Hill this week to speak about the massive breach at Equifax, but it was clear Tuesday that he will be defending the entire credit reporting industry.

The Equifax breach has millions of Americans now thinking about freezing their credit to guard against identity theft. But those who act could be cutting themselves off from the nation's vast credit economy.

Senate Democrats' legislative bid to reform the credit reporting industry is tempered and balanced, according to analysts, which could help it gain traction in the GOP-controlled Congress.