The CFPB Lays an Egg
Okay, maybe that’s not the most objective way even before Easter to let you know that one of our in-depth analyses last week was of the CFPB’s new policy defining the “abusive” in unfair, deceptive and abusive acts or practices (UDAAP). But, as we noted in our assessment (see FSM Report UDAP8), the Bureau’s policy reaches far, deep, and sometimes perhaps indiscriminately into consumer-finance activities that may err only by falling short of the Bureau’s apparently-altruistic view of the only appropriate course of action for consumer-finance companies. We shall see what comes of this policy – even though it’s final, it’s also out for comment as well as sure to be linked into pending litigation protesting the Bureau’s practice of setting rules by administrative fiat. We also expect Republicans to launch the kind of Congressional Review Act repeal announced last week for the Bureau’s controversial small-business reporting rules. But, as we noted, CRA resolutions may well pass the Republican House and even divided Senate, but they will surely not be enacted into law in the wake of a Presidential veto.