US consumer finance watchdog formally kills Biden-era bad actor registry

The top U.S. government watchdog for consumer finance has formally scrapped a registry for caught violating consumer laws, asserting that its costs outweighed any benefit to the public, according to a government notice issued Tuesday.

The repeal of the registry -- which the prior administration of President Joe Biden had said would help catch and deter repeat offenders -- was first proposed in May and is part of President Donald Trump's wholesale reduction of the legal authorities of the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, an agency Trump and other top officials have said should be shut down entirely.