US consumer protections look likely to be deleted by Trump

Expect the financial sector's discomfort with them to win the day

- ERIN LOWRY

As the weeks tick down on the Biden presidency, the administration has been trying to drive through a slew of consumer-finance protections. The new rules, including caps on credit card late fees, would add to some achievements notched on behalf of American consumers, including tighter rules on banking fees and buy-now-pay-later deals. But some of the changes face legal challenges, as Republicans push back against policies that have angered the financial industry. The outcome of these battles is just one area where consumers have a lot at stake in the coming year. Here is what I'll be keeping close tabs on once Donald Trump takes office:

What will happen to the CFPB?: The US Consumer Finance Protection Bureau was created under President Obama in 2010 in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis. Its addition of guard-rails for retail banking, medical billing and consumer finance are often opposed by the financial industry. During Trump's first term, the Supreme Court upheld the president's authority to fire the agency's head. So he may dismiss current director Rohit Chopra and install someone unlikely to sustain initiatives like capping credit-card late fees, closing a loophole that allows high overdraft fees and fighting improper medical billing. The agency may even be dismantled.