In this edition of Woodstock Developments, president Dory Rand cautions against payday loan regulators creating loopholes, Woodstock releases a new report on vacant buildings data collection, Woodstock announces its participation in the Clinton Global Initiatives Commitment to Action program,...
We knew that deregulation of the financial industry and short-term profit-seeking through toxic loan products had led to the disaster, but we didn’t know how we were going to help people in foreclosure and make our financial system more...
Richard Cordray was confirmed today by the full Senate as the Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on a 66-34 vote. Both Illinois Senators Mark Kirk and Richard Durbin voted in favor allowing the confirmation to proceed to...
Both nominations are critical for Illinois consumers, and Illinois Senator Mark Kirk will be a key swing vote on both. Under Richard Cordray’s leadership, the CFPB has worked tirelessly for consumers. The agency has returned millions of dollars to...
Woodstock Institute agrees with Antonakes that strong, reliable data are critical to understanding how financial markets affect consumers and ensuring that the financial industry is abiding by consumer protection laws. Reliable data are also essential to ensure that CFPB...
Organized by Action Now, two members of the grassroots community organization sought loan modifications from bank officials while a gathering of roughly two-dozen protesters marched and chanted outside. “We’re trying to put pressure on the bank to do what they’re...
The report’s proposals focus on vacant building registration, a practice all municipalities should adopt. Registration helps communities understand the impacts of vacancies, obtain contact information for owners and mortgagees of vacant properties, design programs suited to local conditions to...
The CFPB was forced into the limelight on Tuesday when Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Ida., recently asked the Government Accountability Office to investigate the "big data" collection efforts underway on consumer habits at the CFPB. The CFPB was created in...
As we recently noted, a vote to confirm Richard Cordray as the Director of the CFPB is likely to happen this week. Senator Kirk has blocked Cordray in the past, and we need to let him know that voting...
“It’s so very important to build up savings, even if it’s just couple hundred, and park it for emergencies,” said Stephen Brobeck, executive director of the CFA, and author of the report, “Savings Accounts: Their Characteristics and Usefullness.” Roughly...