Foley Attorneys on CFPB Shutdown – Industry in 'wait-and-see mode'

Foley & Lardner LLP attorneys Christi Lawson, Natasha Dempsey, and Whitney Nicholas assessed the Trump administration’s curtailment of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) in the Newsweek article, “What CFPB Shutdown Means for Junk Fees.”

“Even if the CFPB survives in some form, the current leadership of the CFPB will most likely rescind most, if not all, rules or guidance provided during the Biden administration,” the attorneys commented, noting that in the absence of historical federal oversight, several states have already taken action against unexpected or hidden charges, commonly known as ‘junk fees.’ “But, what we expect to differ from the CFPB’s current rules is that the definition of ‘junk fees’ will be more limited,” they added.

“We think the entire consumer financial industry is in a bit of a wait-and-see mode,” the attorneys concluded, “but due to the states’ abilities to regulate certain fees, if they haven’t already, companies are likely to move forward with reviewing their current practices and making some compliance adjustments based on the states in which they do business.”

Their commentary also appeared in MSN.