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☆ Consumer Bureau to Create ‘Corporate Offender’ Registry
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-03 | by ( Stacy Cowley | More About Stacy Cowley | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Monday finalized a plan to create a public registry of nonbank businesses that have been penalized for violating consumer protection laws, a roster some have called a “rap sheet” for companies. The goal, the consumer bureau said, is to make it easier for consumers, watchdogs and government prosecutors to identify patterns and recurrences. “Too many American families and businesses have been harmed by repeat offenders in a rinse-and-repeat cycle of illegal activity,” Rohit Chopra, the bureau’s director, said at a news conference. “When companies believe that violating the law is more profitable than following it, this totally undermines public trust and harms businesses who are playing by the rules.”The bureau estimates that at least 1,500 and as many as 7,750 companies will be subject to inclusion in the registry. The database will compile orders from state, federal and local governments and courts against companies that have faced sanctions for lawbreaking.

Persons: Rohit Chopra Organizations: Consumer Financial

☆ ‘Buy Now, Pay Later’ Borrowers Get More Safeguards With New Rule
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-31 | by ( Ann Carrns | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Borrowers of the popular “buy now, pay later” installment loans should find it easier to dispute charges and get refunds under a new rule announced by the federal government last week. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which has been scrutinizing the alternative loans for more than two years, ruled that “buy now, pay later” lenders were credit card providers and had to offer borrowers some of the same safeguards that conventional credit cards provided. The bureau issued its findings as an “interpretive” rule, meaning it stated its own interpretation of existing law. Shoppers can get a quick approval for the loan at checkout, often with a minimal credit check, and pay zero interest. Some lenders charge late fees for missed payments, while others simply cut off borrowers from new loans until they pay.

Persons: ” Rohit Chopra, they’re Organizations: Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

☆ Bank of America Fined $150 Million Over ‘Junk Fees’ and Fake Accounts
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-11 | by ( Emily Flitter | More About Emily Flitter | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

“These practices are illegal and undermine customer trust,” Rohit Chopra, the director of the consumer bureau, said in a statement. will be putting an end to these practices across the banking system.”Regulators said that Bank of America imposed improper overdraft fees by double-charging customers over the same transaction. The first charge would be a $35 “insufficient funds” penalty levied against a customer who tried to pay for something by check or automated transaction without having the funds necessary to do so. A Bank of America spokesman said the bank had “voluntarily” reduced overdraft fees from $35 to $10 in early 2022 and had eliminated its $35 “insufficient funds” penalty. In addition to the action on overdraft fees taken together by the two regulators, the consumer bureau said it had discovered two other areas where it said the bank was mistreating customers.

Persons: ” Rohit Chopra, “ Organizations: Regulators, Bank of America, of America

☆ Biden wants to roll back Trump’s expansion of short-term health insurance plans
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-07 | by ( Tami Luhby | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —The Biden administration wants to crack down on short-term health insurance plans, which it says can leave patients saddled with hefty medical bills. The proposal would largely reverse former President Donald Trump’s expansion of short-term plans in 2018, which extended the duration of the policies to just under a year and allowed them to be renewed for a total of up to 36 months. Short-term plans do not have to adhere to Obamacare’s consumer protections. The Trump administration heralded them as a cheaper alternative to Affordable Care Act policies since the limits on benefits allow short-term plans to carry lower premiums. Also, the Biden administration announced new guidance to strengthen rules protecting patients from surprise medical billing.

Persons: CNN —, Biden, Donald Trump’s, Trump, Neera Tanden, Joe Biden, ” Rohit Chopra Organizations: CNN, Affordable, Biden, House, of Health, Human Services, Treasury Department, Consumer Financial, Bureau, “

☆ Premarket stocks: What happens if the debt ceiling and banking crisis collide?
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( Nicole Goodkind | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

New York CNN —President Joe Biden said over the weekend that debt ceiling negotiations were moving along and that talks between the White House and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy would resume on Tuesday. It may become more difficult to access credit, further exacerbating the challenges individuals and companies are already facing because of the banking crisis. Before the Bell: What do the ongoing debt ceiling negotiations mean to small and medium businesses? Do you think bank executives and members of the business community can put pressure on Congress and the White House to come to a deal? The White House has estimated more than 8 million jobs would get wiped out if there is a protracted default.

☆ ‘Every family should be concerned’ about debt ceiling, consumer watchdog warns
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-12 | by ( Matt Egan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Every family should be concerned,” Rohit Chopra, director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, told CNN in an interview on Thursday. If Congress fails to address the debt ceiling, the federal government could run out of money as soon as June 1, according to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen. “A lot of things we assume are part of our financial fabric would get ripped away,” Chopra told CNN. The debt ceiling is very likely to be a focus next week when Yellen is scheduled to meet with leading bank CEOs in Washington at a trade association meeting. Moody’s Analytics on Wednesday increased its probability of a breach of the debt ceiling to 10%, up from 5% previously.

In that instance, S&P Global Ratings credit rating agency downgraded the government from AAA to AA+ credit rating. The federal government maintains a perfect credit rating from Fitch and Moody’s, but that could change as the stalemate drags on. Investors care about stability and predictability, so a credit rating downgrade would send a chill down Wall Street’s spine. The broadest economic impact of a US debt default would be a recession that would encompass the global economy, including sharp job losses. And the housing market would not be spared by the “economic calamity” of a US government default, as Yellen once described it.

☆ Premarket stocks: Japan just delivered a lump of coal to investors across the globe
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( Nicole Goodkind | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

A surprise announcement from the Bank of Japan sent investors spinning and global markets reeling on Tuesday. The country’s central bank signaled that it would reverse two decades of policy precedent and begin to move away from loose monetary policy intended to keep wages and prices high. The Japanese Central Bank loosened the yield on its 10-year government bonds from 0.25% to 0.5%. The central bank said that inflation expectations have risen. Japan’s is the last major central bank to keep rates negative and this signals that it could be shifting its stance.

☆ Wells Fargo ordered to pay $3.7 billion for ‘illegal activity’ including unjust foreclosures and vehicle repossessions
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( Matt Egan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

New York CNN —Federal regulators fined Wells Fargo $1.7 billion on Tuesday for “widespread mismanagement” over multiple years that harmed over 16 million consumer accounts. Chopra described Wells Fargo as a “repeat offender” and said Tuesday’s fine is just an “initial step” towards holding the bank accountable. That suggests Wells Fargo may not be out of the penalty box with regulators anytime soon. Those failures caused Wells Fargo to wrongfully repossess some borrowers’ vehicles, to improperly charge fees and interest and to fail to refund certain fees, regulators say. Regulators said Wells Fargo has also been ordered to pay almost $200 million in refunds to those harmed by the bank’s mortgage servicing accounts.

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