The CFPB announced today that it intends to engage in a rulemaking process to reconsider, pursuant to the Administrative Procedure Act, its final rule on Payday, Vehicle Title, and Certain High-Cost Installment Loans (the “Payday Rule”).  The announcement fully accords with our expectation that the Payday Rule will never see the light of day in its current form.

If it were to go into effect, the Payday Rule would largely eliminate the availability of payday loans to the public.  In this regard, the Payday Rule reflected former CFPB Director Cordray’s hostility to payday lending and his failure to seriously consider how consumers who rely upon the product would be impacted by its elimination.  It was adopted on a crash basis shortly before Director Cordray’s resignation and largely disregarded over 1,000,000 comments from consumers articulating the critical benefits of payday loans.

To our mind, it was inevitable that Director Cordray’s successor would wish to re-evaluate the costs and benefits of the Payday Rule.  We think it highly likely that, at the end of the day, the new Director (whether Mick Mulvaney in an acting capacity or the as-yet-to-be-appointed permanent successor to former Director Cordray) will repeal the Payday Rule while he or she considers other options that can preserve the product and limit the potential for consumer injury.

Today’s announcement is good news for the millions of consumers who rely upon payday and title loans to meet their financial needs (and, of course, to the payday and title lending industries).