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Daily Archives: July 20, 2015

CFPB Consumer Complaint Database

“The Consumer Complaint Database is a collection of 420,678 complaints, on a range of consumer financial products and services, sent to nearly 3,000 companies for response. We don’t verify all the facts alleged in these complaints, but we take steps to confirm a commercial relationship between the consumer and the company. See publication criteria.  Since we started accepting complaints in July 2011, we’ve helped consumers connect with financial companies to understand issues with their mortgages, fix errors on their credit reports, stop unlawful callsfrom debt collectors, and get direct responses about problems with their credit cards, bank accounts, private student loans, and more. We analyze the data to identify trends and problems in the marketplace to help us do a better job supervising companies, enforcing federal consumer financial laws and writing rules and regulations. We publish reports on complaints and share information with state and federal agencies.

The database updates nightly, and contains certain information for each complaint, including the source of the complaint, the date of submission, and the company the complaint was sent to for response. The database also includes information about the actions taken by the company in response to the complaint, such as, whether the company’s response was timely, how the company responded, and whether the consumer disputed the company’s response. If the consumer opts to share it and after we take steps to remove personal information, we publish the consumer’s description of what happened. Companies also have the option to select a public response.”

Big Spending by Google Facebook and Amazon on Federal Lobbying

ConsumerWatchDog: “Google trimmed its spending on lobbying in the second quarter by 13 percent to $4.62 million, according to disclosure forms filed today with the Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives, but still significantly outspent other tech giants. Google spent $5.29 million on federal lobbying in the second quarter of 2014 and $5.1 million… Continue Reading

Art and the History of Environmental Law

“Schorr, David, Art and the History of Environmental Law (July 19, 2015). Critical Analysis of Law (2015, Forthcoming). Available for download at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2633175 “This article is an initial exploration of what the history of environmental law can learn from the arts. Looking at visual art (mainly paintings, with some drawings, prints, photographs, and poster… Continue Reading

Feds new rule requires biggest banking companies to increase capital

“The Federal Reserve Board on Monday approved a final rule requiring the largest, most systemically important U.S. bank holding companies to further strengthen their capital positions. Under the rule, a firm that is identified as a global systemically important bank holding company, or GSIB, will have to hold additional capital to increase its resiliency in… Continue Reading

General guide to account opening – consultative document

Bank for International Settlements: “The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision has today issued for public consultation a revised version of the General guide to account opening, which was first published in February 2003. Most bank-customer relationships start with an account opening procedure. The customer information collected and verified at this stage is crucial in order… Continue Reading

HHS unveils first compendium of resources for health emergencies

“The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services today launched the first online collection of the federal resources and capabilities available to mitigate the health impacts of emergencies. The HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) sponsored the HHS Response and Recovery Resources Compendium to aid state, tribal, territorial, local officials… Continue Reading

Guidelines for identifying and dealing with weak banks

Bank for International Settlements: “The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision today published the final Guidelines for identifying and dealing with weak banks. Weak banks are a worldwide phenomenon. They pose a continuing challenge for bank supervisors and resolution authorities in all countries, regardless of the political structure, financial system and level of economic and technical… Continue Reading

China will soon surpass South Korea, Russia, and Japan in nuclear generating capacity

EIA – “Nuclear power currently makes up slightly more than 2% of China’s total power generation. However, the Chinese government has a stated goal to provide at least 15% of overall energy consumption by 2020 (increasing to 20% by 2030) from non-fossil fuel sources, including nuclear, hydroelectricity and other renewable sources. To help achieve this… Continue Reading

Handing Over the Keys to the Castle

Handing Over the Keys to the Castle – OPM Demonstrated that Antiquated Security Practices Harm National Security. Institute for Critical Infrastructure Technology. July 2015. “In this digital age, information is secured, coveted, and exfiltrated by nation states, hacktivists, and ambitious actors because, now more than ever, knowledge is power. Modern needs dictate that only authorized… Continue Reading