The Federal Financial Forum

From: American Banker

By Lalita Clozel

WASHINGTON — Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Richard Cordray has revived an ongoing dispute between banks and fintech firms over screen scraping, a method certain companies use to obtain access to consumer bank records.

In a speech on Monday, Cordray bluntly warned banks not to limit access to financial data by third-parties working on behalf of the customer — comments that elated fintech firms which rely on aggregating data to offer financial advice and other services.

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From: American Banker

By John Heltman and Kate Berry and Rob Blackwell

WASHINGTON – Be careful what you wish for.

That’s the lesson for banks and other financial institutions that have long sought to win a check against the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s power after the U.S. Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday that its structure is unconstitutional.

Far from a victory for the industry, the court’s solution – allowing the president to dismiss a CFPB director for any reason – arguably makes the situation worse by putting the CFPB directly under the control of the White House. As a result, the CFPB is effectively no longer an independent agency.

From: Forbes | Opinion

Susan E. Dudley,  Contributor

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit yesterday struck down as unconstitutional a key provision of the Dodd-Frank Act. The court ruled that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) “is unconstitutionally structured because it is an independent agency headed by a single Director.” Its remedy was to remove the agency’s independence, subjecting its director to the supervision of the president. The ruling is a victory for individual liberty, accountability and the rule of law.

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From: Morning Consult

Ryan Rainey

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The new rules contain three key elements: Public disclosure requirements aimed at improving consumers access to information about the products, a limit to the fees companies can charge if cards are lost or stolen, and credit protections that echo existing rules on the credit card industry. Firms will need to come into general compliance with the rules by October 2017, with some exceptions.

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The credit rules will require companies to vet whether a customer can pay back debt before they offer negative balance as part of the card. The firms will also have to provide monthly credit statements and establish a 21-day period for debt repayment before charging a late fee.

From: RegBlog | Penn Program on Regulation

Grayson C. Weeks

Politicians, advocacy groups, and businesses have all seemed to call for financial regulatory reform during this election cycle. Now, even the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) has joined the chorus. Recently, it issued a report on the state of the regulatory system, identifying areas for reform and calling on Congress and the President to work together to make changes.