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"These are junk fees. The agency said that both fees likely violate the Consumer Financial Protection Act's prohibition on unfair fees that are unavoidable to consumers. In a fact sheet, the White House noted that bank overdraft and non-sufficient funds fees accounted for an estimated $15.5 billion in revenue for banks in 2019. He cited processing fees for concert tickets and resort fees at hotels as two items his administration is examining. There's tens of billions of dollars and other junk fees across the economy that I'm directing my administration to reduce or eliminate," Biden said.

☆ White House hammers economic issues with attack on 'junk fees' two weeks out from Election Day
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( Emma Kinery | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the U.S. economy from an auditorium on the White House campus in Washington, U.S. October 26, 2022. Junk fees are surprise costs added to consumer bills. "And we're just getting started," he said, adding that there are tens of billions of dollars in junk fees across industries that he's directed his administration to reduce or eliminate. Airlines have added myriad fees over the past decade, such as preferred seating fees that don't come with extra legroom. Biden said the move would "immediately start saving Americans collectively billions of dollars in unfair fees" and hold corporations accountable.

☆ U.S. consumer agency to move ahead with 'open banking' rule this week
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-25 | by ( Hannah Lang | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

(Reuters) -The U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) will move forward this week with an “open banking” rule that could dramatically boost competition in the consumer finance industry and increase Americans’ access to financial services. FILE PHOTO: Sign is seen at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) headquarters in Washington, D.C., U.S., August 29, 2020. The U.S. Congress mandated open banking after the 2008 financial crisis, but the CFPB only issued an ‘advance notice of proposed rulemaking’ seeking feedback on a potential rule in October 2020. “In consumer financial services, we have a number of highly concentrated submarkets: the credit reporting conglomerates, the card networks, the core processors, and more. Proponents of open banking argue that it would make it easier for non-banks like technology companies to compete with traditional financial institutions, lowering costs and boosting millions of Americans’ access to financial services.

Oct 21 (Reuters) - Snap Inc (SNAP.N) shares sank more than 30% on Friday and hit their lowest since the pandemic, after the company's forecast of zero revenue growth pointed to more pain ahead for a social media sector heavily dependant on digital advertising. Facebook-parent Meta Platform Inc (META.O) and Pinterest Inc (PINS.N) fell between 2% and 7%. read moreAnalysts rushed to cut their price target on Snap, with Morgan Stanley taking it to a Wall Street low of $7. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterMacroeconomic concerns, changing social media user behavior affects advertiser spendingThe digital ad space has suffered as brands have cut marketing and ad budgets in response to declining consumer demand. Snap reported its slowest revenue growth as a public company for the latest quarter on Thursday, and forecast no revenue growth for the typically busy holiday quarter.

NEW YORK, Oct 19 (Reuters) - U.S. spot crude prices could weaken as the Biden Administration follows through with its plan to sell more barrels from emergency oil reserve by year end, market participants said. Certain oil refineries prefer certain grades of crude, so the mix of barrels sold out of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) could have a knock-on effect on the U.S. and global refining market. The SPR barrels have ended up selling at a discount to West Texas Intermediate barrels for delivery at the Magellan East Houston terminal, as demand has increased for sour barrels to make lucrative diesel, Rathod said. The sour market has also been under pressure, due to increased supplies of Canadian heavy sour and lackluster export demand, said Elizabeth Brown at S&P Global Commodity Insights. Additional barrels of sour grades from the SPR could further weigh on prices.

☆ How using analytics and AI can help companies manage the semiconductor supply chain
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-19 | by ( Bob Violino | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

One potential nearer-term solution for companies that rely on semiconductors: advanced data analytics and artificial intelligence tools to help manage supply issues. "The semiconductor supply chain is still constrained," said Brandon Kulik, semiconductor industry leader and principal at Deloitte Consulting. "Organizations can leverage data analytics tools for deeper insights across the supply chain," Tandon said. Rand Technology, an independent semiconductor distributor, is using data analytics to solve customer challenges related to supply. Rand also uses advanced data analytics to identify trends and patterns that enable it to guide customers strategically through perilous market conditions.

☆ TransUnion, Equifax, Experian may have violated credit reporting rules, Rep. Jim Clyburn says
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-17 | by ( Chelsey Cox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

A key Democrat wants credit reporting agencies Equifax , Experian and TransUnion investigated for allegedly failing to respond to consumer complaints during the pandemic. Clyburn asked the chief executive officers of Equifax, Experian and TransUnion in May for the companies' responses to consumer complaints in the early days of the pandemic. The subcommittee partly credited the pause on student loan payments and an increase in pandemic-related identity theft to credit reporting errors. The bureau also cited the credit reporting companies for accepting these findings without an independent investigation. "Errors in credit reports can reduce consumers' credit scores, potentially blocking access to loans, housing, and employment, among other serious consequences."

☆ Small talks to defuse big pressure around Indo-Pak game
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Excitement is already building for the Oct. 23 blockbuster between the former champions in Melbourne but India captain Rohit sought to downplay the hype around one of cricket's greatest rivalries. "At the Asia Cup, and now here, whenever we meet, we talk about how things are back home, how the families are," Rohit said. "The previous generation of cricketers told us they too used to chat about these things -- 'how's life? Whenever we come across, I try to tap into his experience since he has served India for such a long time. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Amlan Chakraborty in New Delhi; editing by Michael PerryOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ A watchdog found colleges are weaseling students into forking over more money to use certain banks for financial aid. Some are fasting, giving up textbooks, and lighting candles to save on bills.
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-14 | by ( Juliana Kaplan | Ayelet Sheffey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Colleges will often enter agreements with banks to give financial aid to students. Those unnecessary expenses can come from overdraft fees, inactivity fees, and out-of-network ATM fees. Students on financial aid, in particular, might be shouldering more unnecessary fees, CFPB finds. In one instance, a third-party provider charged students fees if they deposited less than $300 a month — but deposits for financial aid didn't count. But this results in unnecessary fees for students who participate, including monthly fees, overdraft fees, inactivity fees, and out-of-network ATM fees of up to $3.50.

The lawsuit marks a major escalation of tensions between the industry and the consumer watchdog, which industry groups say has repeatedly overstepped its mandate under President Joe Biden's director Rohit Chopra. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterThe groups said the agency does not have the legal authority to make that change. Certain financial products, like no-fee checking accounts, could be seen as discriminatory using a disparate impact analysis, the Chamber said. "The CFPB is attempting to pretend that they are Congress and impose new theories of disparate impact through an extra-legal process," Bradley said. The Chamber was joined in the lawsuit, filed in the Eastern District of Texas, by the American Bankers Association and Consumer Bankers Association, among other state groups.

WASHINGTON, Sept 28 (Reuters) - The U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has ordered Regions Financial Corp (RF.N) to pay $191 million in fines and refunds, after the regulator said the Birmingham, Alabama-based bank charged customers illegal overdraft fees for years. From 2018 to 2021 Regions charged roughly $141 million in illegal fees, which will be refunded, the CFPB said in a statement on Wednesday. The bank will also pay a $50 million fine. "Regions Bank raked in tens of millions of dollars in surprise overdraft fees every year, even after its own staff warned that the bank's practices were illegal," CFPB Director Rohit Chopra said in the statement. "Too often, large financial firms make a calculation that continuing to break the law is more profitable than following it."

☆ India's massive card security deadline unlikely to be extended
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-28 | by ( Nupur Anand | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

MUMBAI, Sept 28 (Reuters) - India's central bank is unlikely to extend a Friday deadline for businesses to set up an additional layer of security for consumers' credit card data even after some concerns remain over payments failing and revenue losses, say bankers and merchants. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) did not respond to an email request for comment. Three years ago, India embarked on a mammoth exercise to secure card data by requiring businesses to tokenise cards by Sept. 30. Merchant associations have also reached out to the central bank to see if they can be given more time. Fraud concerning card or internet transactions have been on a rise and made up 34.6% of total number of fraud cases in FY21, according to central bank data.

☆ The Fed just raised interest rates by another 0.75%, putting Main Street economy 'dangerously close' to edge of lending cliff
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-21 | by ( Eric Rosenbaum | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +12 min

"From a credit perspective, people are getting more cognizant about increasing interest cost, and that the Fed will keep interest rates at 4-4.50%," Arora said. "The expectation is, in the short term, SBA loans will adjust up and non-SBA loans are shorter tenure," he said. SBA loan guaranty waiver endingAnother cost that is suddenly influencing the SBA loan decision is the end of a waiver this month on SBA loan guaranty fees that are traditionally charged to borrowers so that in the event of a default, the SBA pays the portion of the loan that was guaranteed. When he started in small business lending back in 1998, business loans reached as high as 12% to 12.5%. And with a peak Fed rate level of 4% or higher reached by late this year, that is where SBA loan rates are heading.

☆ Buy now, pay later offers could save you more money than a credit card. Here are 3 things you should know before using one, according to a government watchdog.
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-16 | by ( Jason Lalljee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

An investigation by the CFPB found that "buy now, pay later" programs can save consumers more money than credit cards. The CFPB says that BNPL products need to offer the same protections that major credit cards do. A common regulation for credit cards includes fraud protection, for instance, available for major credit card users and secured by federal law. Overall, however, BNPL "imposes significantly lower direct financial costs on consumers than legacy credit products," the report said. The CFPB report said that BNPL loans in the US increased by 970% between 2019 and 2021.

☆ U.S. consumer watchdog plans to regulate ‘buy-now, pay-later’ companies
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-15 | by ( ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

The U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) plans to start regulating “buy-now, pay-later” (BNPL) companies like Klarna and Affirm Holdings due to worries their fast-growing financing products are harming consumers, the agency said on Thursday. The watchdog, which does not currently oversee BNPL companies or products, will issue guidance or a rule to align sector standards with those of credit card companies, it said. The agency also pointed to customer data collection as a consumer risk, and said it would start identifying data surveillance practices BNPL companies should avoid. BNPL companies are likely to fight that assertion, however. Share prices of public “buy-now, pay-later” companies have been under pressure this year, with Affirm down more than 75% and Zip down 79%.

☆ Consumer watchdog plans to regulate 'buy now, pay later' lenders similar to credit card companies
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-15 | by ( Chelsey Cox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

The U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau plans to subject "buy now, pay later" lenders to the same vigorous oversight as credit card companies, saying the short-term financing industry harvests consumer data in ways that threatens consumer privacy. Considered a substitute for traditional credit cards, the buy now, pay later model allows consumers to pay off a loan in a few installments, most commonly four interest-free increments. "Buy Now, Pay Later firms are harvesting and leveraging data in ways we don't see with other companies," CFPB Director Rohit Chopra told reporters in a conference call Wednesday. "We want to ensure Buy Now, Pay Later firms are subjected to the appropriate examination just like regular credit card firms," Chopra said. The CFPB will determine how the credit card industry is incorporating buy now, pay later features.

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