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Senate Hearing Readout

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Last week, the Senate Banking Committee held a hearing that AFSA attended and to which we submitted a letter for the record. AFSA’s main goal was to ensure that senators did not promote an extension of rate caps or an expansion of the Military Lending Act (MLA). While we had heard that Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI), a Banking committee member and Chairman of the Armed Services Committee, might offer legislation expanding the MLA, he did not broach the issue during the hearing.

Chairman Sherrod Brown (D-OH) opened by highlighting some of the legal protections already in place for servicemembers and veterans. He also emphasized the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) role in protecting servicemembers’ financial well-being and expressed concerns on the impact of inaccurate credit reports and medical debt. He ended by talking about the significance of the MLA and applauded the CFPB’s enforcement of the MLA.

Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD) led the committee Republicans in the absence of Ranking Member Tim Scott (R-SC). Senator Rounds reiterated the importance of servicemember financial security but cautioned that overregulation was not the best way to achieve that goal. He also encouraged financial literacy programs for servicemembers.

The three witnesses on the panel represented the Military Officers of America, the National Military Family Association, and the Association of Military Banks of America. Both the Military Officers and the Military Family Association witnesses talked about the CFPB’s role in the financial well-being of servicemembers. The Military Banks witness noted the need for government agencies to work with the private sector to best serve military members.

Although multiple Democrat senators praised the MLA in protecting servicemember finances, no senator encouraged the MLA to be broadened to include all Americans. Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) did express interest in broadening MLA to include veterans.

AFSA will continue to stay in contact with members of the Banking Committee and will continue to fight against efforts to expand the MLA or otherwise impose arbitrary rate caps on hardworking Americans.

Senate Hearing Readout
Nov 08, 2023

Last week, the Senate Banking Committee held a hearing that AFSA attended and to which we submitted a letter for the record. AFSA’s main goal was to ensure that senators did not promote an extension of rate caps or an expansion of the Military … Read the rest

AFSA Weighs In on Senate Hearing
Nov 02, 2023

Today, the U.S. Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee held a hearing on financial protections for servicemembers and their families. In advance of the hearing, AFSA sent a letter to Chairman Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Ranking… Read the rest

AFSA Seeks Deliberate Rulemaking by CFPB
Nov 02, 2023

Last week, AFSA joined many other trade associations representing a vast array of financial institutions, in a letter to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) requesting an extension of its comment period on the Dodd-Frank Act… Read the rest

FEATURED BUSINESS PARTNER | Flagstar Bank
Nov 02, 2023

The featured Business Partner for the month of November is Flagstar Bank.

Flagstar Bank is a leading regional bank headquartered in NY with over $100 billion in assets and a robust Corporate Banking Division. Within Corporate Banking, we … Read the rest

November White Paper on Debt Settlement Companies
Nov 02, 2023

Our latest white paper is now available. This month’s white paper takes a deeper look into debt settlement companies.

Debt settlement companies promise to reduce consumer debt significantly, but they charge high fees and may not disclose… Read the rest

Ready to Get to Work
Oct 26, 2023

It was good to see new Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA), move quickly to get the chamber refocused on taking up the peoples’ business.

While the past several weeks created some uncertainty, it also focused attention… Read the rest

AFSA Corrects CFPB’s Misconceptions on Powerbooking
Oct 26, 2023

This week, AFSA commented on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Summer 2023 Supervisory Highlights. This CFPB report shares its perspective on certain practices, including new or updated areas of focus in supervisory reviews.… Read the rest

Happy Holidays?
Oct 23, 2023

The consumer credit market received early good tidings last week with the National Retail Federation’s holiday spending outlook. Based on a survey of more than 8,000 consumers, it found that the more than 90 percent of American adults planning… Read the rest

Pennsylvania HB 1580 – Remote Work
Oct 19, 2023

This past week, AFSA’s State Government Affairs team sent a letter to the Pennsylvania House Commerce Committee expressing support for HB 1580.

This bill would permit specific personnel from licensed sales finance companies to engage in… Read the rest

Lifting the Hood on New Auto Data
Oct 18, 2023

Cox Automotive reported that auto loan performance remained a mixed bag in September. Delinquency rates continued to rise but are not translating to higher defaults rates. The share of loans delinquent for 60 or more days increased for the… Read the rest

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