News
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)'s ability to regulate the banking industry and ensure adequate protections for consumers' nationwide is under scrutiny as Republicans and Democrats alike consider a new future for the agency amidst the Wells Fargo false account scandal.
The fight for fair lending got a big boost on Aug. 31 when a federal court rejected a payday loan collector’s attempt to evade consumer laws. The decision against CashCall, a California-based online payday and installment lender, upheld the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s authority to investigate and fine lenders for unfair, abusive or deceptive practices. The court ruling is a key step in a legal battle that began nearly three years ago.
The B Corp Best for the World List recognizes those companies creating the most impact for a better world. Sunrise Banks and Beneficial State Bank were both named as honorees.
The Federal Reserve's accommodative monetary policy and post-crisis regulatory structure is having an unintended and counterproductive effect: it's making it harder for ordinary Americans to get ahead. That argument, detailed in a paper released Monday by Federal Financial Analytics, analyzed academic research from across the globe to assess the impact of the prolonged ultra-low interest rate environment on asset prices. The conclusion is that while those accommodative policies have spurred economic activity in some areas, it has primarily resulted in the growth of assets like equities and securities that are disproportionately held by the wealthy.
To the editor: Your article describes efforts to investigate Wells Fargo for predatory practices. This latest fine against Wells Fargo highlights industry-wide practices that have resulted in billions of dollars in fines in recent years. But, as a banker focusing on low-income communities, I don’t believe these fines are eliminating unwanted behaviors.
Carver Federal Savings Bank CEO Michael T. Pugh was recently interviewed on The Karen Hunter Show, which airs on SiriusXM Urban View, Channel 126. During the interview, Mr. Pugh spoke with Karen Hunter about the challenges and opportunities that Black-managed banks face and how important a bank’s Community Reinvestment Act (“CRA”) Rating is to determining whether that bank is providing loan capital to the communities it operates in.
Community bankers are sensing a chance to poach clients from Wells Fargo as the financial giant struggles with a phony-account scandal.
The Financial CHOICE Act would change the CFPB’s structure and regulatory power, and would help community financial institutions by ending Operation Choke Point.
Durham-based M&F Bank has made the decision to de-list from the Nasdaq and withdraw its common stock from registration. In a securities filing Tuesday, the company said the decision came down to several factors, including the “significant cost” of filing periodic reports and complying with regulatory rules. According to the disclosure, the company will continue to publish “selected financial information” and quarterly earnings reports on its website.
Banks, weighing factors that include cost-efficient underwriting, keeping credit losses under control, and regulators' caution on products such as deposit advance, struggle to create workable credit products that meet the short-term borrowing needs of low- and moderate-income customers. This prevents those customers from climbing the traditional bank credit ladder, and drives them to seek other options. Consequently, the landscape is saturated with more than 50,000 alternative financial services storefronts and websites that include check cashers, auto title lenders, pawnshops and the like. These alternative lenders are often labeled "fringe," but one in four households use them regularly.