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Mulvaney in Senate testimony: I'm required to be here, but not to answer your questions

Mick Mulvaney, the acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), told a Senate panel on Thursday that he's not legally bound to answer lawmakers' questions, only to appear before them, in comments meant to stress his agency's independence.

"While I have to be here by statute, I don't think I have to answer your questions," Mulvaney told the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee. "If you take a look at the actual statute that requires me to be here, it says that I 'shall appear' before the Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs of the Senate. And I'm here and I'm happy to do it."

"I want to make it clear, I'm going to answer every question that I can today. I'm not using this as an excuse not to answer your questions."

Mulvaney, who concurrently serves as the White House budget director, made a similar remark on Wednesday during an appearance before the House Financial Services Committee, when he said that "it would be my statutory right to just sit here and twiddle my thumbs while you all ask questions."

Mulvaney, who has long been critical of the CFPB, was trying to make a point about the independent status of the agency, which he has, at times, cast as rogue and in need of more aggressive congressional oversight. Read more at THE HILL

Federal judges indicate they could remove Mulvaney as acting CFPB chief

Judges on a federal appeals court panel on Thursday appeared hesitant to overrule President Trump and install the deputy director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau as the agency's temporary leader.

But two of the three judges from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit indicated they had a problem with the person Trump selected to take the position, Mick Mulvaney, because he also heads the White House Office of Management and Budget. The 2010 law that created the bureau as an independent federal agency specifically said OMB should not have oversight or jurisdiction over it.

That raised the possibility that the legal battle over the future of the watchdog agency could end with Mulvaney's removal as acting director - a move that would be cheered by Democrats and consumer advocates who have complained about his public opposition to the bureau's existence.

But Mulvaney would not be supplanted as they want by Deputy Director Leandra English, who brought the suit to remove him after his appointment by Trump last fall. Under such a ruling, English might be elevated to acting director for at best a day or so until Trump simply named another person to serve as acting director, pending appointment of a permanent director needing Senate confirmation. Or the administration might appeal such a ruling to the full appeals court.

Read more at LOS ANGELES TIMES

Mobile device verification technology and why your business needs it. by Philip Burgess

If the average consumer has any one item these days, it's likely a mobile device. Smartphones are truly ubiquitous, often the first thing people pick up in the morning to see what's happening in the world or find out if someone has contacted them via text, voicemail or private message. In fact, when people go online, it's frequently with their handheld device, as nearly 90 percent of mobile users log on to the internet daily, according to recent data from the Pew Research Center.

Mobile devices are so omnipresent, there are almost as many smartphones in the U.S. as there are people, a total that's expected to grow with each passing year.

What is mobile device verification?

The fact that smartphone ownership is so common is part of the reason why mobile device verification technology is so important. As its title implies, mobile device verification services enable businesses to establish customers or borrowers are who they say they are. Identity theft is rampant, as more payment options have enabled hackers to access users' sensitive data, even the information that people maintain on their devices. Verification technology gives businesses the specifics they need to substantiate their customers' identity. This not only helps to streamline transactions and approval, but also provides greater transparency and extra due diligence. Read more at MICROBILT

OHIO: Payday lending crackdown stalls in Ohio House

Less than 24 hours after Republican Cliff Rosenberger announced his resignation as Ohio House speaker, lawmakers delayed action on the strongest restrictions for payday lending that the state has considered in a decade.

State Rep. Kyle Koehler, R-Springfield, urged the House Government Accountability and Oversight Committee to amend and pass House Bill 123 but committee members said they need more time to digest Koehler's 27-page proposed amendment.

"I just decided that was the best way to approach it," said state Rep. Dorothy Pelanda, R-Marysville, a committee member and legislative leader. When asked whether the bill would advance to a floor vote before lawmakers go on summer break, Chairman Bill Blessing, R-Cincinnati, said "Good question. I don't know."

Rosenberger's resignation seem to be linked to inaction on House Bill 123 and an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. While the bureau declined to confirm or deny an investigation, Rosenberger hired a criminal defense attorney because he heard the FBI was asking questions about his activities. Read more at DAYTON DAILY NEWS

Consumer Bankers Association supports Mulvaney's proposed changes to CFPB

The Consumer Bankers Association (CBA) offered its support for the proposed changes to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) laid out last week by Acting Director Mick Mulvaney in the bureau's semi-annual report.

Mulvaney proposed four statutory changes to the bureau. One of his recommendations is to fund the CFPB through Congressional appropriations, while another is to require legislative approval of major rules. The third recommendation is to ensure that the CFPB director answers to the president, while the fourth is to create an independent inspector general for the CFPB.

"CBA supports Acting Director Mick Mulvaney's goal of bringing greater accountability to the agency," CBA President and CEO Richard Hunt wrote to members of the House Financial Services Committee and Senate Banking Committee. "It is crucial that appropriate checks and balances are in place given the scope and importance of this agency. It is also important to insulate the Bureau from future political shifts that could reduce its ability to act impartially to ensure a fair and competitive marketplace."

Mulvaney is set to provide testimony before these committees on the changes this week.

Read more at Financial Regulation News

Payday loans, CFPB data collection and Warren face-off: Mulvaney's 2nd day on Hill

One major concern by Democrats was whether Mulvaney plans to gut or rescind the CFPB's recently enacted rule to rein in payday lending. Mulvaney has publicly said he's against the rule and suggested it should be overturned by Congress, but claimed Thursday he had not made a decision on how to reshape the regulation.

"I don't automatically conclude that making an indication to revisit the rule assumes that we will be revoking the rule or even changing the rule," Mulvaney said. "I have the right, under the statute, to revisit the rules which I am doing, but we have not arrived at any preconceived notions of outcomes."

Democrats are concerned that any changes to the rule would allow more predatory lenders into the small-dollar consumer loan space while Republicans and the industry argue the regulation went too far and will cut off access to credit.

"The best way to address the problem that you perceive is to pass legislation and not rely on me to do it for you," Mulvaney said. Read more at CREDIT UNION JOURNAL

Can Consumers Still Get Help from the CFPB?

Change has come swiftly to the agency, but for now important consumer tools remain in place

A new regime has been at the helm of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau these last five months, but it may take more time before consumers notice any difference.

John Michael "Mick" Mulvaney, a staunch foe of the bureau since its inception, has been running it since late November, when President Trump picked him to replace Obama appointee Richard Cordray, the bureau's first director.

Since then Mulvaney, who is also the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, has aggressively sought to rein in the CFPB, cheering many in the finance industry and outraging many consumer advocates.

He's halted new enforcement actions-punishments of financial companies accused of wronging. He's ended a CFPB probe of World Acceptance Corp., an installment lender accused of unfairly profiting off of low-income, repeat borrowers.

He also stopped the bureau's lawsuit against four other so-called payday lenders and postponed implementation of a rule to curb payday lending practices industrywide. And he's restructured an office that investigates auto-lending violations, a move opponents say hamstrings its work.

Read more at CONSUMER REPORTS

Women, millennials lag in financial literacy

Americans still struggle with financial literacy, which is why it is so important for employers to offer personalized financial education to employees, along with a 401(k) plan.

Demographics play a major role in determining who is and isn't financially literate, according to data compiled by the Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America and the Global Financial Literacy Excellence Center at George Washington University. In fact, when they surveyed Americans about their financial knowledge and understanding, the organizations found that women and those who make less than $50,000 a year are the most likely to struggle with financial literacy.

The survey asked respondents about their earnings, how much they are budgeting and managing their spending, how much they are saving and investing, how much they are borrowing and how they are managing that debt, the types of insurance coverages they have purchased, whether they understand the risks associated with various financial outcomes and where they go to get their information about financial topics.

"The bad news is that only 50% of the respondents in this representative sample of the U.S. population are able to answer the questions we asked in this survey, questions that cover the functional knowledge that people should have to make savings, investment and other financial decisions," says Dr. Annamaria Lusardi, founder and economic director of the Global Financial Literacy Excellence Center. Read more at EBN

removes our logo from gently used Advance Financial uniforms and replaces them with a

fun fabric design. All shirts are then donated to those in need.

CFPB Chief: I Could Make Consumer Complaints Secret

Consumer Protection Bureau Acting Director Mick Mulvaney said for the first time today that he has the option to remove the CFPB's consumer complaint database from public view. He made his statement during a two-hour give and take with the Senate Banking Committee.

U.S. PIRG Consumer Campaign Director Mike Litt called Mulvaney's announcement very disconcerting. "The reason the consumer complaint database is effective is that it is public,'' Litt said, noting that 97 percent of the complaints get responses from the companies involved. Because of their complaints, the consumer activist added, people often receive satisfaction--from recovery of money they claim was wrongly taken; to the correction of errors on credit reports; to the end of harassment from debt collectors.

Partisanship was high during the Banking hearing. Alabama Senator Richard Shelby, a Republican who opposed the creation of the CFPB, complained the agency lacks Congressional accountability.

But Virginia Senator Mark Warner, a Democrat who has supported the consumer bureau since its inception, noted CFPB directors have appeared before the Senate Banking and House Financial Services committees a total of 60 times. Read more at FORBES

  

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