Cordray Stands by CFPB Data Exercises, Outlines Tough Stand on Payday Lending
On Thursday, the House FinServ Committee held a hearing to receive the CFPB’s Semi-Annual Report with the agency’s Director, Richard Cordray as the only witness. Chairman Hensarling (R-TX) reiterated his strong objections to most aspects of the CFPB’s structure and proceedings, pushing also for a more liberalized qualified-mortgage standard. Democrats and Republicans took up this theme with regard to community banks and credit unions, and also joined forces to criticize recent CFPB “big-data” ventures. Mr. Cordray also took many questions on payday lending, indicating his view that recent on-line offerings through firms affiliated with Native Americans violate federal law. This report analyzes today’s session. Separately, the CFPB yesterday issued a bulletin providing its view that federal law bans employers from requiring employees to receive payroll on stored-value cards. The bulletin also details other applicable consumer protections, responding to recent press accounts indicating that employees are forced to use these cards and pay high fees as a result.
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