Under The Daily Caller story on tribal lending: 

Sen. Tim Johnson touts the financial education provision of the Dodd-Frank law.

Saw this coming from a few thousand miles away:

Andrea Leadsom MP for South Northamptonshire has joined a coalition of MPs from all three major parties calling on the Government to set out a timetable for action to prevent exploitation in the high-cost lending market, in response to new evidence showing the speed of growth in the sector.

Remember, in Britain there are no states to regulate the industry so the national government will have to develop regulations.  This is not necessarily a bad development as long as the regulations are fair and allow competition in the marketplace.

Short-term credit is a hot topic in Texas this week. Some lawmakers wonder why:

Sen. Chris Harris, R-Arlington , said he had received only two complaints about payday loans over the past decade.

Sen. Mike Jackson, R-La Porte , echoed that sentiment.

“I’m wondering if we’re trying to fix something just to fix it,” Jackson said. “If there is a huge problem out here, I’m having a hard time finding them.”

Elizabeth Warren frequently does.  From the story:

Elizabeth Warren, assistant to the President and special advisor to the Secretary of the Treasury on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, kicked off a conference for the anniversary of the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure Act, more commonly known as the Credit CARD Act, by praising the credit card industry for going beyond the requirements of the law to ensure clarity and transparency for consumers.

“A year later, the CARD act has brought about major changes in the way the industry operates,” Warren said in the keynote address.  “Much of the industry has gone further than the law requires in curbing repricing and over limit fees.  A number of issuers have eliminated some of the practices that can confuse customers and cost them money they reasonably did not expect to pay.  Lenders in the industry deserve credit for moving in the right direction.”

Daily Caller contributor Natasha Mayer thinks the Indian Partnership model adopted by some Internet lenders should offend even “free market” types.  From the story:

Let me try to wrap my mind around this. Indian tribes, looking to clone their lucrative but controversial casino model, lend their sovereign immunity out to the highest bidder — no questions asked. The Internet lenders rent a P.O. Box based on an Indian reservation and blow off all the state attorneys general who file lawsuit after lawsuit against them. They even get to operate in the 12 states that have banned their competition — brick and mortar short-term lenders.

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So, as someone who’s always believed in the free market and feels that unregulated commerce is the key to liberty, how should I feel about this issue? Should the payday lenders who have found a way around state and federal laws by operating on Indian reservations be rewarded for their entrepreneurial ingenuity? Ultimately, I have to say no. Why? Because the free market only works when similar businesses are regulated by uniform laws, and the winners and losers are determined by the market’s decisions alone. The CFPB, by trying to regulate away free market choice, has already awarded the jackpot to the (currently legitimate) Indian tribes and online lenders and made consumers the rubes. This isn’t the free market or liberty — it’s what happens when regulators get outsmarted.

The Nation’s Katrina vanden Heuvel covers Elizabeth Warren’s speech last week in which Warren expressed concern about congressional intereference.   From the story:  

The financial services industry and their congressional cronies will continue efforts to thwart Warren and the CFPB every step of the way. Warren will use her bully pulpit, but she will need the people at her back, mobilized, if the agency is to be successful.

The financial service industry is not monolithic.   Who specifically is thwarting the CFPB?

It starts one week from tomorrow.  From more information, click here: 

Elizabeth Warren has weighed into the debate.

From The Hill: 

White House adviser Elizabeth Warren is traveling around the country at a breakneck pace and courting support from House Republicans as she works to set up the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Treasury documents show.

Her schedule provides a glimpse into her work setting up the CFPB, which is due to go live in July, after being created by the Dodd-Frank financial reform law.