Need not worry, you can watch the recap of CFPB Director Richard Cordray’s remarks by clicking here.

If you missed the first event, CFPB Director Rich Cordray talked about CFPB’s inquiry into overdraft practices. Here are some of the things the Bureau is working on when it comes to overdraft protection. EXCERPT BELOW IS TAKEN FROM THE CFPB’S WEBSITE:

• We’re researching how overdrafts affect you. We launched an inquiry through a data request that is being sent to a number of banks and a Notice and Request for Information to gain insight into overdraft practices.
• We want you to understand what actions you can take now to protect yourself from overdraft fees. Do you know your overdraft status? Read our Consumer Advisory that explains how you can learn whether or not you have opted in to debit overdraft fees on ATM and point-of-sale transactions. Go to our Twitter and Facebook accounts to tell us your debit overdraft status.
• We’re working to make it easier for you to understand the costs and risks of overdraft programs. Our model overdraft “penalty fee box” is a thought-starter for a disclosure that would appear on your checking account statement and online banking landing page. It would highlight the amount overdrawn and total overdraft fees charged, so you so can clearly see how much overdrafts are costing you. Tell us what you think.

The CFPB is at the campus of Hunter College in New York City, where Richard Cordray, Raj Date, industry insiders, and consumer advocates are discussing customer experiences with checking accounts and overdraft protection.

You can either watch it by going to the CFPB’s website, by clicking here. Or watch it below:

 


Live video for mobile from Ustream

Don’t worry, we’ve been tweeting live from Birmingham. Go to twitter.com/paydaypundit and follow us! And see our reposts on #Facebook! We even threw in some pictures so you can really see what was going on.

Today, Rep. Terri A. Sewell (D-AL) will introduce Director Richard Corday at today’s CFPB hearing in Birmingham. Sewell released a statement, and in it said the following about access to short-term credit.

Here’s an excerpt from her statement released on the wire early this morning:

“Given these challenging economic times, many of my constituents across the 7th Congressional District of Alabama and families across this country rely upon the payday loan industry to satisfy many of their every day needs for short term cash,” said Rep. Sewell. “However, there are some bad actors within this industry that operate outside of the law.  These actions must quickly be addressed by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Ultimately, this industry must do a better job of educating and providing more transparency about the products and services that they offer.  It is my hope that the CFPB will create and implement a balanced approach to its regulation of these non bank service providers while punishing the bad actors that only seek to take advantage of our consumers.”

Tomorrow at noon, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) will be putting on its first field hearing in Birmingham, AL. Tomorrow’s hearing will include testimony from two members of CFSA’s Board of Directors and other industry representatives, customers, and members of the public – all who will provide the CFPB with on-the-ground insight into the payday lending market.

Stay tuned in with us by following us @paydaypundit and watching for #CFPBPaydayHearinginAL

WHEN

Thursday, January 19, 2012
12:00 p.m. CST/ 1:00 p.m. EST

WHERE

*New location
Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex
East Ballroom A
2100 Richard Arrington Jr. Blvd. North
Birmingham, AL 35203

SCHEDULE

12:00 p.m.
Opening Remarks
Joyce White Vance, U.S. Attorney
U.S. Representative Terri Sewell
Richard Cordray, Director of the CFPB

12:20 p.m.
Expert Testimony
CFPB Staff Participants
Raj Date, Deputy Director of the CFPB (Chair)
Patrice Ficklin, Assistant Director for the Office of Fair Lending and Equal Opportunity
Gail Hillebrand, Associate Director for Consumer Education & Engagement
Peggy Twohig, Assistant Director for the Office of Nonbank Supervision

12:20 p.m.
Panel 1: Consumer Experience with Payday Loans
Shay Farley, Legal Director, Alabama Appleseed
Marcella Roberts, CEO, Building Alabama Reinvestment
Stephen Stetson, Policy Analyst, Alabama Arise
Shirley Worthington, VP of Community Initiatives, United Way of Central Alabama

1:00 p.m.
Panel 2: Industry Perspective on Payday Loans
Kim Gardner, Cash USA
Daryl McMinn, Chief Operations Officer, Listerhill Credit Union
John Owen, Senior Executive Vice President, Head of Consumer Bank, Regions Financial Corp.
Ted Saunders, CEO, Community Choice Financial, Inc.

1:40 p.m.
Public Testimony

A House Financial Services subcommittee is taking a look at the first 100 days of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Raj Date, the agency’s acting head, is testifying on the Bureau’s work so far and what’s on the horizon. Watch it live now, by clicking here. Look to the right and click on “CFPB hearing: Live Now”

To download his prepared testimony, click here.

Raj Date, the acting head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), weighed in on the BofA $5 debit card fee controversy for the first time yesterday, according to an LA Times blogpost. Though he did not directly mention Bank of America’s new $5 monthly debit-card fee, Date said that banks often are murky about how much they charge customers and suggested the agency might move to simplify checking account disclosures.

“Different banks charge different fees. Different fees are applied under different terms and conditions. Different banks give different names to the very same fee,” Date said. “Ideally, consumers would have a simple way to evaluate checking account costs.”

The CFPB put up a blogpost today that has a Raj Date recap from yesterday’s meeting in Philadelphia. Click below to review the vid.