Banking

Banks had a recent win in Washington. Behind closed doors, President Trump signed a Congressional bill to overturn the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) rule banning mandatory arbitration clauses.[1] As initially written, the CFPB rule would have opened banks and credit unions up to a flood of litigation. The new bill is a sign of support from Washington as banks face looming regulatory changes.

By now, you may have heard that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit declared that Congress had taken unconstitutional action with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and introduced a swath of changes that stand to impact providers and consumers in numerous ways. The court's decision puts the CFPB directly under the control of the White House. Currently, the CFPB operates as an independent agency. There are arguments on both sides of that coin, some saying that the autonomy provides necessary stability for the U.S. economy and others saying that it offers a dangerous lack of checks and balances.