Last week, the American Financial Services Association joined several other groups urging the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to issue an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR) before it publishes a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to amend the Fair Credit Reporting Act. AFSA and the other trades are concerned that a rushed, inadequate rulemaking […]

Today, AFSA joined a coalition letter urging the CFPB to deny the recent Petition for Rulemaking that would establish regulation banning pre-dispute arbitration provisions in contracts for consumer financial services. AFSA opposes new CFPB rulemaking in this space because arbitration reduces transaction costs and enables fair, speedy, and efficient dispute resolution, thereby providing significant advantages […]

This week Assistant Secretary for Financial Institutions Policy, Graham Steele chaired a convening in the Treasury Cash Room. Civil rights organizations, consumer advocates, and research organizations discussed financial inclusion and financial barriers that underserved communities face. This week’s meeting was one of many the Department of the Treasury is hosting in an effort to develop […]

American Financial Services Association (AFSA) has submitted comments on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) recent action in the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) space. The letter addresses several proposed changes in the “Small Business Advisory Review Panel for Consumer Reporting Rulemaking Outline of Proposals” (SBREFA). AFSA shares the CFPB’s mission to protect consumers from data […]

There has been a lot of talk recently in Washington about the appropriations process. And while it may not be as catchy as “I’m just a bill …” understanding the appropriations process is just as important and entertaining as other “Schoolhouse Rock” civics sessions.  So let’s dive in: Appropriations has been used as a bargaining […]

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 […]

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 Member Tim Scott (R-SC) thanking them for holding the hearing and stressed the importance of keeping access to […]

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 Sec. 1033 proposed rulemaking, dubbed the Personal Financial Data Rights rule. The CFPB has traditionally provided a 90-day comment […]

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 focus on lending verticals that meet the specialized needs of our clients. Our Lender Finance Group, for […]

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 that creditors are not obligated to cooperate. With the rise in non-housing consumer debt in the U.S., they’ve become an attractive alternative to […]