AFSA staff attended the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection’s (BCFP) Building a Bridge to Credit Visibility Symposium on Sept. 17, the focus of which was using innovation to build economic opportunity.
The heads of several different BCFP offices, as well as other experts, spoke during the all-day event. Mick Mulvaney, the acting director of the BCFP, made a surprise appearance. He emphasized that the Bureau is still doing fair lending. “You may have read a bunch of things or seen a bunch of things saying we are out of that business, and nothing could be further from the truth,” he said, adding, “I hope that you take this symposium as evidence of that. We are still very much in the fair lending business and we going to remain active in that space.”
Symposium speakers offered a wealth of information. One speaker discussed that the only way to make $3,500 loans at a low interest rate was to do so as a non-profit. Another mentioned that 20% of secured-credit cardholders end up with problems paying off the card. Someone else talked about the benefits to credit life insurance, specifying that the benefits only applied if the term of the loan was over a year.
Paul Watkins, who recently joined the Bureau as the head of the Office of Innovation, stressed the role that innovation can play in consumer protection. William Wade-Gery, who serves as the Director for the Bureau’s Office of Card, Payment, and Deposit Markets, talked about the need to think more about electronic disclosures. The rules for paper disclosures don’t always work well in an electronic format.
The Bureau released a study during the symposium entitled, Data Point: The Geography of Credit Invisibility.
One of the interesting conclusions noted in the study is that proximity to a bank branch is not an important factor in explaining why consumers are “credit invisible.”
The Bureau plans to host another symposium next year and welcomes ideas for a theme.
AFSA staff attended the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection’s (BCFP) Building a Bridge to Credit Visibility Symposium on Sept. 17, the focus of which was using innovation to build economic opportunity.
The heads of several different… Read the rest
The Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (BCFP) this week posted a blog saying it is emphasizing growing its state and local government relationships, as part of its Strategic Plan and Objectives for this year.
“The Bureau has strong… Read the rest
Today’s financial institutions understand the power of artificial intelligence to drive profitability in their businesses. Many lenders employ data science teams who are experimenting with machine learning. But the challenge… Read the rest
The Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (BCFP) and four other federal agencies this week issued a joint statement explaining the role of supervisory guidance for regulated institutions, clarifying that guidance does not have the same… Read the rest
Despite the announcement last week that U.S. auto sales through August are tracking at an annual rate of 17 million units by year-end, certain economic headwinds are possible which would affect both auto manufacturers and lenders in the future.… Read the rest
The American Financial Services Association (AFSA) today launched a new communications channel for AFSA members and prospective members. AFSA Today, is AFSA’s first-ever podcast focusing on a discussion of issues relevant to the… Read the rest
AFSA will host a webinar on September 7 about the recently-passed California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 (AB 375/Chapter 55) and the new requirements for financial institutions doing business in the state. Although the requirements will… Read the rest
Representatives from the Federal Reserve Banks of Kansas City and San Francisco discussed aspects of consumer complaint practices for banks on August 29. The webinar addressed how regulators use consumer complaints to gauge the adequacy… Read the rest
It’s the most wonderful time of the year…back to school!
From New York to California and Oregon to South Carolina, hundreds of instructors have recently registered to access MoneySKILL as part of the 2018-19 school year.… Read the rest
“The American Financial Services Association (AFSA) supports the Senate Banking Committee’s approval of the nomination of Kathy Kraninger as the next Director of the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (BCFP) and is … Read the rest
