White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs has weighed in on Elizabeth Warren.

From the story:

With the financial regulatory reform bill signed into law by President Obama, the collection industry is bracing for the expected impact of the broad and complex legislation. 

“We are disheartened by provisions in the financial regulatory reform bill that are all-inclusive without a clear understanding by lawmakers of the impact of their actions,” says Rozanne M. Andersen, CEO at ACA International, a collection industry association. 

“Collection agencies do not sell or offer financial products and services. In our opinion, all financial services industries are not created equal and to include the debt collection industry in this new law is overreaching,” she says.

You could knock me over with a feather.   From the New York Times: 

“A lot of us are terrified about what happens in rule-making,” said Stephen Lerner of the Service Employees International Union, which is pressing the administration to nominate Ms. Warren. “Symbolically, it does seem incredibly important to pick somebody who not only invented the idea, but someone who doesn’t claim to be a neutral.”

Bankers oppose her nomination for exactly that reason. Roger M. Beverage, head of the Oklahoma Bankers Association, said that Ms. Warren was widely respected in Oklahoma, where she was raised and is still remembered as a high school debate champion. But he said that his members did not believe she would understand the needs and concerns of community banks.

D. Lynn DeVault, board chair of CFSA, issued the following statement to members last Friday:

 ”While we worked to improve Congress’s efforts to add layers of regulations over our already highly regulated industry, it’s time for the industry to look forward and not backward.

“We intend to work with the future Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to ensure that any new regulations provide strong consumer protections while preserving and increasing competition in the small loan market. CFSA will engage in direct discussions with the CFPB and expects to be a leader in the development of the Bureau’s position on short term lending products.

“Our association’s Best Practices provide consumer protection and disclosure guidelines that should apply to the entire small-dollar, short-term loan market. As the most transparent financial service in that market and one already subject to strict state laws, we believe that any rules should create a level playing field in order to provide the greatest benefit to consumers.”

The CFPB isn’t good enough.   This guy wants a rate cap.

Sen. Al Franken endorses Elizabeth Warren.

Regarding the essay below:

Well of course this is BRILLIANT! Timely! Optimistic!! And I am in total agreement regarding the future of our industry!

This needs DISTRIBUTION!

Thank You, Hilary!! For your time and your effort!!!

Finally, some expert opinion.  Longtime industry attorney, Mr. Hilary B. Miller, who many of you may know from his breakout sessions at CFSA’s annual meetings, has drafted a detailed and thoughtful explanation of what we can expect next: (click on “more” at the bottom to read the rest)

What, exactly, are the implications of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act for payday lending? For those in the industry, how the Act will shape the future of short-term consumer loan products is this week’s “$64 question.” Some law firms, Wall Street analysts and others have summarized the Act and its possible effect on various other financial businesses, but commentary on payday has been lacking in the media – including, surprisingly, the blogosphere. For better or worse, I’m going to launch myself into this lacuna.

My views will surprise many readers and will appear at odds with the public statements of some industry professionals. (I’m going to be making a presentation on this subject at the ABA Annual Meeting on August 8; so if you think I’m all wet, please let me know right away before I embarrass myself.)

These thoughts come with some caveats: First, if you are not my client, this is not legal advice to you. Second, efforts at punditry of this nature are notoriously unreliable and subject to the vagaries of political winds that will blow and crack your cheeks – or possibly worse. Third, I propound this primarily as a thought experiment to elicit alternative or better theories, to which I am receptive; if you have a different view, I want to hear it.

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Washington Post gives us a behind-the-scenes look at how Administration officials got financial reform passed.

I’m lost.  From the story: 

Pawn shops in Reno are like teenage girls at a Justin Beiber concert: everywhere.