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57 July 2025 J O U R N A L July 2025 » themortgagepoint.com HOUSE COMMITTEE VOTES TO SLASH CFPB'S CONSUMER COMPENSATION FUND T he Consumer Financial Protec- tion Bureau (CFPB) has been praised by consumers for its numerous achievements over a decade that have enhanced transparency and equity in the financial market. An estimated 82% of Americans consider it essential to regulate financial services to guarantee fairness for consumers, according to a survey conducted by the Center for Responsible Lending. Research, oversight, inquiries, and legal action were some of the powerful methods employed by the CFPB to re- cover over $21 billion for more than 200 million consumers who were defrauded. Together, the anti-regulatory fac- tions that opposed the establishment of the CFPB have persistently sought to diminish, challenge, or abolish the agency. With a president and a legisla- ture currently adopting a deregulatory viewpoint, the merger of pro-business executive orders aggressively advocat- ed by appointed officials has inflicted financial damage on consumers and undermined the agency's objectives. "It's not really about saving taxpayer money or anything related to the bud- get," said Christine Hines, Senior Policy Director at the National Association of Consumer Advocates. "It's about getting rid of the Bureau." Putting Initiatives in Place: Agency Acts on Behalf of Victims The agency has recently taken several actions, including reducing CFPB staffing by some 70%, suspending ongoing investigations and pending litigation, and reversing regulations con- cerning overdraft fees and credit cards. Additionally, a recent announcement indicated that the agency would cease enforcement of regulations pertaining to "buy now, pay later" credit. In summa- ry, the actions of the agency today no longer align with its name or intended mission. However—and some may say unfortunately—the effort to weaken the CFPB is far from over. It is currently BOWMAN OUTLINES FED'S PLAN TO REVIEW & MODERATE BANK OVERSIGHT T he new leading regulatory official at the Federal Reserve outlined a bold plan to review and relax a number of bank regulations and policy practices that she claimed were burdensome and superfluous. The Fed will be reevaluating how it drafts regulations and oversees some of the biggest and most intricate banks in the country, according to Michelle Bowman, the Fed's Vice Chair for Supervision. She made the case in prepared remarks that the proliferation of regulations after the 2008 financial crisis calls for a reexamination. This comes after a statement from Bowman on June 16, where she addressed various issues the Fed plans to combat and how to implement those initiatives. "Today's interagency announcement is a welcome first step in the efforts of the federal banking agencies to combat the increasing occurrence of fraud, particularly check fraud," Bowman said. "Check fraud has grown substantially over the past several years, resulting in harm to banks, especially community banks, and the consumers and businesses who are the victims of fraud. While this has been a well-known problem for several years, efforts by regulators have been slow to advance, and seem to have done little to address this growing threat. "We need a comprehensive strategy to develop and implement an effective, coordinated approach that is focused on preventing payment fraud and assisting consumers, businesses, and supervised institutions. As Vice Chair for Supervision, I am committed to working together with a wide range of state and federal partners, including law enforcement, to address this issue. I look forward to reviewing the public feedback in response to the request for information." Vice Chair Paints Agenda Surrounding Bank Policies & Oversight Bowman, a Fed governor since 2018, has long opposed attempts to regulate the banking industry more strictly. In her first comments after being confirmed to the Fed's top regulatory position, she stated that the Fed will soon begin a number of initiatives to simplify oversight and loosen regulations, particularly in key areas that banks have long complained about. "Our goal should not be to prevent banks from failing or even eliminate the risk that they will. Our goal should be to make banks safe to fail, meaning that they can be allowed to fail without threatening to destabilize the rest of the banking system," Bowman said. Changes to the Fed's oversight of big banks, efforts to loosen some bank regulations, and an examination of potential reforms that may facilitate bank mergers are some of those initiatives.