Supreme Court Review Could Undercut CFPB Enforcement

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau could lose leverage in enforcement negotiations as the Supreme Court considers whether its leadership structure is unconstitutional.

The CFPB has said it will be business as usual as the U.S. Supreme Court considers a challenge to the independent agency’s single-director, whom the president can only fire for cause, rather than at will.

But federal judges have already put stays on the bureau’s enforcement litigation or closed cases altogether pending a Supreme Court decision in Seila Law LLC v. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau— which hasn’t been scheduled for oral arguments yet.

That delay could give companies ...