Mick Mulvaney's CFPB seems to be going conspicuously soft on payday lenders


On Monday, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) quietly dropped its four-year-old investigation of World Acceptance Corp., a payday lender in the home state of Mick Mulvaney, the acting CFPB director and White House budget director. World Acceptance Corp., which donated at least $4,500 to Mulvaney's congressional campaigns, announced the CFPB's move in a press release, and the CFPB had no comment for International Business Times.
Last Thursday, without explanation, the CFPB dropped a lawsuit against four payday lenders in Kansas that charge interest rates of up to 950 percent. On Jan. 16, the agency — set up in 2010 to protect consumers — announced its intention to scale back regulations finalized in October by previous CFPB Director Richard Cordray over strong objections from the payday lending industry. The rules are designed to prevent consumers from being saddled with onerous loans by payday lenders, banks, and auto lenders.
Consumer advocates have expressed concern that Mulvaney is going easy on payday lenders, which provide short-term loans at high interest rates to mostly low-income people. They cite the $57,100 in campaign contributions Mulvaney had received from the payday lending industry over his political career, according to the National Institute on Money in State Politics, including $31,700 in the 2015-16 election cycle.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Mulvaney, who dismisses such concerns, outlined his goals for the CFPB in a Tuesday memo obtained by ProPublica's Jesse Eisinger. He reminded CFPB staff they are government employees. "We don't just work for the government, we work for the people," he wrote. "And that means everyone: those who use credit cards, and those who provide those cards; those who take loans, and those who make them; those who buy cars, and those who sell them. All of those people are part of what makes this country great." At the very least, payday lenders will be happy to know they are consumers in need of protecting, too. You can read Mulvaney's mission statement, and Slate's biting retort.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
June 22 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Sunday’s political cartoons include a SpaceX flight, Bibi pulling Donald Trump toward war, and an ICE agent looking like a bank robber
-
5 bunker-busting cartoons about the Israel-Iran war
Cartoons Political cartoonists take on Iran waiting for Pete Hegseth to leak war plans and Donald Trump's wish for a Nobel prize
-
Malaysia's delicious food and glorious beaches
The Week Recommends From 'colourful' George Town to the 'jungled interior' of Langkawi, Malaysia is incredibly diverse
-
Economists fear US inflation data less reliable
speed read The Labor Department is collecting less data for its consumer price index due to staffing shortages
-
Crypto firm Coinbase hacked, faces SEC scrutiny
Speed Read The Securities and Exchange Commission has also been investigating whether Coinbase misstated its user numbers in past disclosures
-
Starbucks baristas strike over dress code
speed read The new uniform 'puts the burden on baristas' to buy new clothes, said a Starbucks Workers United union delegate
-
Warren Buffet announces surprise retirement
speed read At the annual meeting of Berkshire Hathaway, the billionaire investor named Vice Chairman Greg Abel his replacement
-
Trump calls Amazon's Bezos over tariff display
Speed Read The president was not happy with reports that Amazon would list the added cost from tariffs alongside product prices
-
Markets notch worst quarter in years as new tariffs loom
Speed Read The S&P 500 is on track for its worst month since 2022 as investors brace for Trump's tariffs
-
Tesla Cybertrucks recalled over dislodging panels
Speed Read Almost every Cybertruck in the US has been recalled over a stainless steel panel that could fall off
-
Crafting emporium Joann is going out of business
Speed Read The 82-year-old fabric and crafts store will be closing all 800 of its stores