Today, Senators Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Josh Hawley (R-MO) are introducing legislation to cap credit card interest rates at 10 percent. The legislation would be in effect for five years. AFSA was quoted in the NYT opposing the bill: The American Financial Services Association, a trade organization for credit card issuers, has said rate caps are “’unworkable’ and ‘actually […]

Today, President Trump announced that on January 31 he appointed Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent as acting director of the CFPB. As one of his first actions as acting director, Secretary Bessent ordered that the CFPB will: halt movement on any proposed or final rules or guidance; suspend effective dates of rules; not advance […]

In the past two months the CFPB has worked overtime – literally – to reinforce its reputation as an agency of over-reach and unaccountability. Now, with no director and a new administration that has made it clear there will be a focus on transparency and accountability, Rep William Timmons, is requesting that the Bureau refrain […]

This morning, Rohit Chopra was removed as CFPB director: https://x.com/chopracfpb/status/1885689592046559408 Here is the message that AFSA posted on X. AFSA looks forward to working with new leadership at the @CFPB to ensure American consumers are protected under a clear and certain set of rules put forward in a fair and transparent way to ensure a […]

AFSA congratulates Rep. French Hill(R-AR), on his election to the Chairmanship of the House Financial Services Committee. AFSA has worked with Representative Hill on a number of issues crucial to American consumers and the consumer credit industry, including reining in the CFPB’s regulatory overreach, specifically with the auto loan data collection earlier this year. We […]

On January 29 the CFPB issued a report saying that U.S. military Servicemembers “pay higher costs and face greater financial risks” than their civilian neighbors when financing vehicles.  This report insinuates that servicemembers are being disadvantaged somehow, but a closer look reveals methodological shortcomings in the CFPB’s analysis. Even absent these issues, there are clear […]

On January 28, Elora Rayhan from AFSA’s State Government Affairs team testified at an Oregon committee hearing in opposition to OR HB 2561. This bill would opt-out the state from the Depository Institutions Deregulation and Monetary Control Act of 1980 (DIDMCA). DIDMCA introduced a parity for state banks, stipulating that state-chartered banks with federal insurance are also authorized to […]

AFSA is excited to support Representative Andy Barr’s reintroduction of his Taking Account of Bureaucrats’ Spending (TABS) Act. The TABS Act would bring the CFPB under congressional review and its budgetary process. Currently, the CFPB is funded directly from the Federal Reserve. If the legislation passed, the CFPB would then be under the traditional appropriations process. Bill […]

Last week AFSA’s State Government Affairs team submitted testimony opposing Maryland HB 29 and Washington SB 5070, both of which seek to limit interchange fees on the gratuity and sales tax portions of electronic transactions. These bills, modeled after Illinois’ controversial Interchange Fee Prohibition Act (IFPA), would shift financial burdens from retailers to financial institutions, creating a host of […]

AFSA, along with many other trade associations, sent a letter this week to Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Cruz (R-TX), Senate Commerce Committee Ranking Member Maria Cantwell (D-WA), House Energy and Commerce Chairman Brett Guthrie (R-KY), and Ranking Member Frank Pallone (D-NJ) to clearly lay out a national privacy framework. The letter states that consumers […]