Finance

State treasurers push CFPB on third-party financial data access rule

Published

7 months ago

October 22, 2025

State treasurers push CFPB on third-party financial data access rule

Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., on his bill to eliminate the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Elon Musks directive to federal workers over documenting work, Congress budget reconciliation process and his political future.

A dozen state financial officers are writing to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to uphold consumers’ right to share financial data with authorized third parties as the agency weighs a rule that could restrict their ability to do so, according to a letter exclusively reviewed by FOX Business.

The CFPB is considering revising a regulation under section 1033 of the Dodd-Frank Act, which would revise the definition of a “representative” who makes a request on behalf of the consumer, as well as how to assess fees to cover costs incurred by a covered person responding to a customer request.

Twelve state financial officers — including nine treasurers, two auditors and one controller — wrote in favor of the rule recognizing consumer-authorized third parties as “representatives” while preserving existing authorization and conduct requirements.

They wrote that Section 1033 gives consumers a right to access their financial information upon request and that the rule includes agents, trustees or representatives acting on their behalf, including those who aren’t fiduciaries, upon the consumer’s authorization, which is the “touchstone” of the process that needs to be preserved.

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A dozen state financial officers are arguing for the CFPB to preserve the ability of consumers to authorize non-fiduciary representatives to access their data. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

“Preserving this interpretation promotes competition and innovation (including for real-time payments, budgeting tools, alternative credit assessment, AI, and crypto) and it reduces the risks of debanking and market concentration,” the financial officers wrote.

“In contrast, narrowing ‘representative’ would harm consumers by reducing choice and entrenching incumbents — outcomes counter to Section 1033’s competitive purpose,” they explained.

The group of state financial officers wrote that the CFPB should affirm the text of the rule by clarifying that a consumer-authorized third-party qualifies as a representative acting on their behalf.

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The CFPB’s proposed rule is revising regulations under the Dodd-Frank Act. (Samuel Corum/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

They also wrote the definition of “representative” shouldn’t be limited to fiduciary relationships as it’s not required by the text and would “unduly restrict consumer choice.”

“Consumers should be able to exercise their Section 1033 rights directly or through an authorized representative of their choosing. A text-faithful interpretation of ‘representative’ sustains competition and innovation and reduces risks of debanking and market concentration,” the state financial officers explained.

State financial officers who signed onto the letter include Kansas Treasurer Steven Johnson, Kentucky Treasurer Mark Metcalf, Mississippi Treasurer David McRae, Nebraska Auditor Mike Foley, Nebraska Treasurer Tom Briese, Nevada Controller Andy Matthews, North Dakota Treasurer Thomas Beadle, Ohio Treasurer Robert Sprague, South Carolina Treasurer Curtis Loftis, Utah Auditor Tina Cannon, Utah Treasurer Marlo Oaks and Wyoming Treasurer Curt Meier.

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The state financial officers want to ensure consumers can authorize a third party to look at their financial data. (Yuki Iwamura/AFP via Getty Images)

The public comment period for the CFPB’s rule closed on Tuesday night and the rule attracted nearly 14,000 comments.

Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., sent a letter to the CFPB in support of open banking policies as the agency considers the rule, while consumer groups have also weighed in.

“Major financial institutions are attempting to consolidate their power and maintain monopolistic control over consumer data,” Will Hild, executive director of Consumers’ Research, said in a statement.

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“If these major banks are allowed to continue to control access to consumer data, they will have even greater leverage to punish Americans for their beliefs and to coerce compliance with their radical left-wing ideology.”

Finance

How can I illustrate our financial position to a spouse who shows little interest?

Published

2 hours ago

June 3, 2026

Press Room

How can I illustrate our financial position to a spouse who shows little interest?

Reader question: My spouse has little interest in our financial position. As we age, this concerns me. I try to share some basic information (income, spending, account balances, debt, and so on) each month but rarely get a response. I think graphs or charts might be of more interest to her than a bunch of numbers. What recommendations would you have for illustrating our financial position so that I am not the only person aware of how we are situated? Thanks!

Answer: Your situation is pretty common. Most couples I know develop a division of labor over time, where one person is in charge of financial matters and the other person is less involved. That’s definitely the case for my husband and me. He’s in charge of paying all the monthly bills and preparing our tax returns, but the financial planning and investment decisions are up to me. This type of arrangement might work well for a long time, but can become less sustainable with age, particularly if the “finance person” in the relationship dies or develops a major health issue.

Online tools and mind maps

Illustrating your financial situation with charts and graphs is a great idea that might help your spouse become a little more involved. Morningstar’s  Portfolio X-Ray  tool includes a variety of images that help illustrate your financial situation. Websites for most major brokerage firms also include some visual tools. Schwab, for example, offers a Portfolio Checkup and a bar graph illustrating your account’s monthly income from dividends and interest income. Vanguard has a Portfolio Watch tool and a variety of performance illustrations, tools, and calculators.

A  mind map, which we used with clients when I worked for a financial advisory firm, can be another way to picture your entire financial situation on one page. There are various  softwaretemplates  for drawing a mind map, or you can simply sketch it out with a large sheet of paper and a pencil. Start with your names at the center of the page. Then draw spokes connecting to various categories, such as names of other family members; investment accounts; real estate and other assets, insurance policies, estate plans, key goals and values, and contact information for accountants, estate planners, and other professionals. It can be helpful to go through the mind map together and make any updates needed at least once a year.

Other ways to communicate about money

A few other ideas—though not related to charts and graphs—might also be useful.

I like the idea of putting together a  net worth statement  that itemizes cash, taxable accounts, real estate, retirement accounts, and debt for each member of the couple as well as items owned jointly. It’s a good idea to update this document at least once a year and  discuss it as a couple. If you set up the document as a spreadsheet, you can include columns with additional information such as account numbers, what each account is used for, which accounts are subject to required minimum distributions, or tax issues like potential capital gains.

Many couples also put together a  binder  (sometimes humorously called a “Doomsday Book”) that contains information about where to find important paperwork, insurance policies, how bills are paid, what each account is for, steps the surviving spouse will need to take, final wishes, and any other critical information.

A well-qualified financial adviser can bridge the information gap

Finally, you could consider working with a good  financial adviser,  who can help involve your spouse in financial matters while you’re still living and step in to fully manage investments and personal finance decisions if you pass away before your spouse. Make sure the adviser holds the Certified Financial Planner designation and charges fees that are reasonable. Although a 1% fee is still the industry standard for accounts of $1 million or less, it’s possible to find advisers who charge significantly less, including a few who price their services based on hours worked instead of a percentage of assets under management.

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This article was provided to The Associated Press by Morningstar. For more personal finance content, go to https://www.morningstar.com/personal-finance.

Amy C. Arnott, CFA, is a portfolio strategist for Morningstar and co-host of The Long View podcast.

Finance

Proximo Congress 2026: US Energy & Infrastructure Finance | Insights | Mayer Brown

Published

13 hours ago

June 3, 2026

Press Room

Proximo Congress 2026: US Energy & Infrastructure Finance | Insights | Mayer Brown

Mayer Brown is a proud sponsor of Proximo Congress 2026. This senior meeting of the US energy, infrastructure, and digital infrastructure finance community is shaped around the questions credit and investment committees are actually asking in 2026: how asset classes are converging, how risk is being priced in a recalibrated policy and geopolitical environment, and how public and private capital are being structured together to deliver projects at scale.

Mayer Brown has also been recognized for three separate awards which will be presented during the event. These awards include:

Proximo North America Transport Deal of the Year 2025 – SR 400 Peach Partners
Proximo North America Rail Deal of the Year 2025 – Brightline West
Proximo North America LNG Deal of the Year 2025 – Port Arthur LNG 2

For more information, visit the event website.

Finance

What are nonconforming mortgages and what are the risks?

Published

23 hours ago

June 2, 2026

Press Room

What are nonconforming mortgages and what are the risks?

If you have ever taken out a mortgage, you’ll know there are a lot of requirements to meet. You may need to put down a certain amount and have a debt-to-income ratio below a certain threshold. You may also run into limits on how much you can borrow or what sources of income the lender will count.

These rules do not apply to all mortgages — just to conforming mortgages, which is what the majority of borrowers take out. However, mortgage lenders are increasingly offering what are known as nonconforming loans, or mortgages that do not “comply with every one of the strict standards put in place after the housing crisis,” said The Wall Street Journal. While “still a small portion,” the “share of mortgages using alternative lending practices” has “doubled in size over the past three years.”