Just filed my last story for the year. See you in 2026. www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ePm...

Remember back on Dec. 10 when I posted about the CFPB Consumer Advisory Board meeting with a Talladega Nights clip? Well, here's the video. The first five minutes are really something (and really far more religious than is probably appropriate). www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ejy...

The Trump administration is moving to withdraw a Biden-era guidance from the CFPB and Justice Department outlining when use of immigration status in loan approvals edges into fair lending violations. news.bloomberglaw.com/banking-law/...

Listen, I don't necessarily understand what's going on over at the CFPB either. But they appear to be on the verge of releasing new guidance on paycheck advance (or in the parlance of our times, earned-wage access) products. New from me: news.bloomberglaw.com/banking-law/...

May his memory be a blessing.

I let my then-kindergartner take the day off from school so we could go to this together (I had taken a day off from work). We had hot dogs at Papaya King and I bought him a little Poe Dameron X-wing. What a great day. Movie was super fun as well!

The CFPB says it will return $46 million to people who had money locked up following Synapse Financial Technologies Inc.'s failure. That's around half of what the bankruptcy trustee estimated was owed, but lots of folks were expecting nothing. news.bloomberglaw.com/banking-law/...

If you thought the fight over the CFPB's fate was over following the August DC Circuit opinion allowing the Trump administration to fire just about everyone, you lost! news.bloomberglaw.com/banking-law/...

We're really lucky that Keith Alexander joined our team, and this is just one example. The Washington Post's loss is our gain. news.bloomberglaw.com/white-collar...

If anyone on here has ever attended a CFPB Consumer Advisory Board meeting, can you tell me if it began with a very long recording of the Star Spangled Banner?

Alas, the new site doesn't have the same gifs as the old site, but it's still good to bring this out of mothballs.

You should all be following Ben (and I'd say the same about Celine but she's not on here). They consistently break vital news out of the Justice Department. Coupled with what's happening at the CFPB and HUD, this means that you won't be seeing any redlining cases any time soon since.

Do I have any admin law professors following me on here? I have some questions about interim final rules. Nerdy!

Figured I'd reup this story with a link to statements praising Michael Salemi from his coworkers. nteu335.org/2025/12/05/c...

Here's my final update for the night on the departure of the CFPB's top enforcement attorney. Here's part of the quote from the CFPB: “Don’t let the door hit you on the way out, Mr. Salemi." Classy! news.bloomberglaw.com/banking-law/...

Yet another top CFPB enforcement official has resigned in frustration. New from me: news.bloomberglaw.com/banking-law/...

I'm listening to a lawmaker repeatedly talk about the P-factor at an oversight hearing for prudential financial regulators. And yeah, I know, it's a real technical term. It's also very, very funny. (Otherwise, this hearing is zzzzzz)

Morning. Took a holiday social media break (extremely refreshing!). So catching up here. First, looks like CFPB bonuses and dental and vision plans are going away the NTEU negotiated are going away. Happy holidays from Russell Vought! news.bloomberglaw.com/banking-law/...

Reupping from last night. Despite saying that the agency was going to run out of money, necessitating the transfer of all active litigation to the Justice Department, the CFPB told enforcement lawyers to restart some investigations. news.bloomberglaw.com/banking-law/...

So after the CFPB said it can't get more money and will likely have to shut down. And after the CFPB transferred all litigation to Justice Department. And after that "humility pledge" for examiners. The CFPB is restarting investigations. news.bloomberglaw.com/banking-law/...

These are magnificent. And whaddya know? The Olympics are right around my birthday.

Somehow, the Youtube algorithm served up old Letterman clips after the FDIC open meeting ended. I regret to inform my editors that I might miss some deadlines. www.youtube.com/live/JspS8i5...

Meanwhile, the CFPB told a bankruptcy trustee that it would use its Civil Penalty Fund to compensate people who had money locked up following the failure of Synapse Financial Technologies, a VC-backed fintech middleman. There may not be enough money to do so. news.bloomberglaw.com/banking-law/...

Happy Thanksgiving from the CFPB!

I mean sure, why not.

The CFPB is rushing to get the open banking rule done before it runs out of money (it claims). And it's probably going to cut a bunch of corners to get it done. Where are all the sticklers for administrative procedure now? New from me: news.bloomberglaw.com/banking-law/...

If you want to hear two smart people (Kate Berry and Rob Blackwell) and a goofball (me) talk about all of the stuff going on at the CFPB, take a listen to this. open.spotify.com/episode/1hjH...

Took the boys to see "The Running Man" yesterday afternoon. It was a lot more fun than I expected. And I was super glad to see a kid younger than my nearly 12-year old in the theater.

The final accounting on FDIC job cuts is around 1,330 people, including buyouts and not filling vacancies. That's around 100 more than the agency was looking for. The Biden administration had budgeted for around 6,500 full-time FDIC employees in 2025. news.bloomberglaw.com/banking-law/...

Earlier in the week, the CFPB said it could run out of money because it can only get money when the Fed is profitable (a position even Texas AG Ken Paxton! disagrees with). If that theory holds, everything the CFPB is doing now is probably illegal, too. news.bloomberglaw.com/banking-law/...

This is too much Vassar even for me.

Don't sleep on just how broad this fair lending rule rewrite the Trump administration is proposing (out of the CFPB, which doesn't have money, apparently): news.bloomberglaw.com/banking-law/...

Despite its funding being still illegal (at least according to the White House), the CFPB is set to release a proposed a rewrite of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act: public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2025-19864.pdf

This is all very confusing to write. This ruling only applies to state-chartered banks, not federally chartered ones regulated by the OCC and protected by federal preemption. Thanks, @jonathanjoshua.com. Anyway, here's an update including a dissent. news.bloomberglaw.com/banking-law/...

A federal appeals court says Colorado can block banks chartered in other states from issuing loans that violate Colorado interest rate caps to borrowers in Denver, Boulder, Colorado Springs, etc. Sorry, that's all the Colorado municipalities I can remember. news.bloomberglaw.com/banking-law/...

Over the weekend I saw that there were still Kalshi live odds posted for the NYC mayor's election despite it being mercifully finished last week. Andrew Cuomo still had a 1% chance! Normally I find those ads extremely annoying, but I hope some jamoke made a bet (er, bought a futures contract)

Not for nothing, but Meta announced that the CFPB dropped an investigation into financial products advertising just last week! news.bloomberglaw.com/banking-law/...

I've grown to hate the phrase "use cases." Just say uses, people.

Not the biggest Meta story today, but the CFPB dropped an investigation into third-party financial services offerings on Facebook and Instagram. news.bloomberglaw.com/banking-law/...

Never miss your shot.

Folks, I waded into the nearly 14,000 comments on the CFPB's open banking proposal (more like broad questions and ideas) so you don't have to. JPMorgan's data access fees were at center stage. news.bloomberglaw.com/banking-law/...

We've now got more than 13,500 comment letters on the CFPB's open banking proposal, said the guy who has to read them.

Now that's a name I've not heard in a long time. A long time.

My wife doesn't think the Louvre jewel heist is as cool as I do.

I owed the younger boy a trip to the movies, his choice. So yesterday, he chose the new Tron. Before yesterday I've never felt the urge to throw a rotten tomato at a screen. And I never, ever need to see Jared Leto onscreen again.

This is Times Square in NYC. The people keep on coming. Lots of One Piece flags and "we have friends ever" signs. Not pictured: famed character actor Dylan Baker, who walked right past me a few minutes ago.

The OCC has suspended all fair lending exams until February while the Trump administration reviews how its fair lending posture, according to an internal email obtained by Bloomberg Law. The debanking probe continues, however. news.bloomberglaw.com/banking-law/...

This here pad of paper costs $100. No pad of paper is worth $100. What are we doing, folks?

Here's my story about potential pushback to the Trump administration's RIF of the entire CDFI Fund staff. Is it for show? Maybe. But it's one of the few instances where the GOP has said peep about a Trump move. news.bloomberglaw.com/banking-law/...

I'm listening to something where a tech person referred to a farm as a "diversified veggie and livestock operation."