Overnight Finance: Consumer bureau under fire

HAPPENING NOW: FED CHAIR JANET YELLEN MEETING WITH SENATE BANKING CHAIRMAN RICHARD SHELBY (R-ALA.). Shelby told me that Yellen called the meeting, so he'll let her set the agenda. But it comes as Shelby has signaled in recent weeks he's eying legislative fixes to make the central bank more transparent. Bank critics say the Fed's power has grown following the 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street reform law. My story for The Hill: http://bit.ly/1KSKm3g TOMORROW STARTS TONIGHT: LAWMAKERS SPARRED OVER A NEW REPORT ON THE CFPB. "Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) expressed tentative satisfaction Tuesday with plans for reform at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) following a government probe that confirmed the agency's diversity problems. CFPB officials have agreed to implement each of the 17 structural changes recommended by the Federal Reserve's inspector general (IG) to address the issue, which includes increased diversity training for employees. "'While the findings confirm anecdotal suspicions, I am pleased to see that the CFPB has agreed with every recommendation made by the Inspector General and has already begun taking significant steps to address diversity and inclusion issues within its ranks,' said Waters -- the top Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee -- in a statement." But Republicans say more reforms are needed. "House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas) in a statement called the CFPB 'a very troubled bureaucracy and these findings lends credence to what dozens of whistle blowers have told our committee.' "'Each day it becomes more apparent that the CFPB is an unaccountable Washington bureaucracy in need of real reforms,' Hensarling said." My story:http://bit.ly/1GCK11D THIS IS OVERNIGHT FINANCE. Thank you to Pete Schroeder for writing the newsletter Monday night. I had an awesome time in sunny San Fran. Tweet: @kevcirilli; email: kcirilli@thehill.com; and subscribe: http://thehill.com/signup/48. You know the drill... back to work... CAN THE EXPORT-IMPORT BANK REBRAND ITS IMAGE? J.D. Harrison for The Washington Post: "Dozens of local business executives and government officials gathered Monday morning in an office building that's under complete renovation in Tyson's Corner, Va. – an area that's in the midst of its own makeover. "In that sense, it was an appropriate setting for a forum about the Export-Import Bank. Under threat of extinction from Congress, the agency is looking to overhaul its image, rebranding itself an important tool for small businesses rather than the massive corporate financing machine it is portrayed as by critics in Washington."http://wapo.st/1NFZdgD GOLDMAN'S STRESS TEST PROBLEMS, via Nathaniel Popper for DealBook: "Concerns have emerged that Goldman Sachs -- long the leader on Wall Street -- may lose an important engine of profitability. On the Federal Reserve stress tests last week, Goldman performed poorly compared with other big banks. Now analysts and investors are worried that the bank could be barred by regulators from buying back its own stock or increasing dividends." http://nyti.ms/199OZ8H POP QUIZ: What percentage of Americans don't know that Janet Yellen is chairwoman of the Federal Reserve? Keep reading... ALL THE COVERAGE YOU EVER WANTED ABOUT HILLARY CLINTON'S EMAIL AND THEN SOME: 1.) Hillary says 'personal' messages were deleted from email account, by Ben Kamisar: http://bit.ly/1C4Udiv ... 2.) Clinton: Private email had 'no breaches,' by Cory Bennett: http://bit.ly/1C2B4Mo... 3.) State Department: Release of Clinton emails will take 'several months,' by David McCabe: http://bit.ly/1FHbwU6 ... 4.) Liberal groups use Clinton email flap to push Warren on run, by Pete Schroeder: http://bit.ly/1KSGnUB ... 5.) Clinton team provides Q-and-A on how emails were turned over, by McCabe: http://bit.ly/1ETcw9e Moving on... BPC LAUNCHES INSURANCE TASK FORCE... Bill McCartney and Bob Litan, co-chairs of the Bipartisan Policy Center's Insurance Task Force in an op-ed for The Hill: "We also need to consider whether an optional federal insurance charter makes sense in a post-Dodd Frank world. Prior to the financial crisis, major bipartisan legislation was proposed in both the House and Senate that would create a federal insurance charter and regulator. The Obama administration was open to this idea, but it was ultimately not incorporated into Dodd-Frank. Given the unexpectedly prominent role that the Fed and FDIC now play, the time is ripe to revisit this idea. "We are co-chairing a new task force at the Bipartisan Policy Center to explore these and other important topics. By examining the facts, we hope to come up with concrete recommendations that can improve insurance regulation at the state, federal and international levels. The insurance market is a vital component of the economy. We need smart and meaningful reforms to ensure that it stays that way." http://bit.ly/1GoRfTk CFPB GOES AFTER BIZ LAWYERS - - CHAMBER FIRES BACK. Pete Schroeder for The Hill: "Consumers are being unfairly limited in their legal options by mandatory arbitration clauses that accompany a host of financial products, according to a new government study. "Tuesday's report from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) found that mandatory clauses that require consumers to enter arbitration with a company rather than file a class-action lawsuit were common in many financial products, applying to millions of Americans. "But the study also found that those clauses may let the financial industry significantly trim its legal bills. On average, consumers received roughly $175,000 from arbitrators in 2010 and 2011, compared to just under $1 million won by taking companies to court. "The new report received quick criticism from industry groups. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce called arbitration a 'simple, inexpensive and modern system' and accused the bureau of 'an unfair and biased approach.' However, the CFPB said there was no evidence that mandatory arbitration lowered prices for consumers." http://bit.ly/1MqWaqT QUIZ ANSWER: 70 percent of Americans -- yes, seven in 10 Americans -- do not know that Yellen chairs the central bank. More poll results: http://bit.ly/1C1I8ZZ ECONOMIC CONFIDENCE DIPS - - AGAIN. Rebecca Shabad reports: "Economic confidence has remained negative for the third consecutive week, according to a survey released by Gallup Tuesday. Gallup's Economic Confidence Index registered at -3 last week. The index recently went back into negative territory after two straight months of hitting positive territory. The economic confidence level became positive in December for the first time since fall 2008. In October 2008, the index hit a low of -65." http://bit.ly/1Bu5QMl Write us with tips, suggestions and news:  vneedham@thehill.com; pschroeder@thehill.com; bbecker@thehill.com; rshabad@thehill.com; kcirilli@thehill.com. --Follow us on Twitter: @VickofTheHill; @PeteSchroeder; @BernieBecker3; @RebeccaShabad and@kevcirilli.