On March 8, 2023, the CFPB released a special edition of its Supervisory Highlights that reports on unlawful junk fees uncovered in deposit accounts and in multiple loan servicing markets, including in mortgage, student, and payday lending. The said findings were found during examinations between July 1, 2022, and February 1, 2023. According to the CFPB, these unlawful fees corrode family finances, force up families’ banking and borrowing costs, and are not easily avoided, thus the agency is continuously rooting unlawful fees out of consumer financial markets.

On March 2, 2023, the CFPB published a new report analyzing the financial profiles of Buy Now, Pay Later borrowers. The report finds that consumers using Buy Now, Pay Later were more likely to be using credit cards, payday loans, and other high-interest financial services. The report also indicates that they are also more likely to exhibit measures of financial distress than non-borrowers.

On March 1, 2023, the CFPB released a new issue spotlight examining how the financial products used to deliver public benefits, like Social Security and unemployment compensation, affect individuals’ ability to fully access the assistance provided through those programs. The issue spotlight outlines how governments often choose to deliver public benefits through financial products, particularly prepaid cards, that may subject recipients to high fees and cut into the amount of funds the consumer receives. 

On February 27, 2023, the CFPB issued a request for public comment regarding consumer disclosures of a loan that finances both a construction phase and the permanent purchase of a home. The proposal seeks to adjust the existing mortgage disclosures to facilitate the offering of construction and construction-to-permanent loans.