*

CFPB also ends requirements that Toyota ( TM ) pay tens of

millions to

car buyers

*

Walmart ( WMT ) had been accused of causing delivery drivers to

pay

"junk fees"

*

Former official denounces 'corporate pardons'

(Adds Walmart statement in paragraph 5)

May 13 (Reuters) - The U.S. Consumer Financial

Protection Bureau has canceled a 2023 settlement with the

financing arm of Toyota ( TM ) over allegations the auto giant

illegally steered thousands of consumers into costly and

unwanted product bundles, according to documents published by

the agency.

The agency on Tuesday also dropped a federal lawsuit against

the retail giant Walmart ( WMT ) and the workforce payments firm

Branch in which officials last year said the companies had

forced more than a million delivery drivers into using accounts

that cost them more than $10 million in so-called junk fees.

The decisions continued efforts by President Donald Trump's

administration to minimize CFPB oversight of consumer finance.

The agency, which Trump has said should be eliminated, accusing

it of politicized enforcement, has now ended almost all the

enforcement actions that were pending when Trump took over.

The CFPB and Branch did not immediately respond to requests

for comment.

Walmart ( WMT ) said in a statement it was pleased with the CFPB's

decision to withdraw a case it said was rushed, erroneous and

"never should have been filed in the first place."

According to an order canceling the Toyota ( TM ) settlement, the

CFPB specifically waived requirements that Toyota ( TM ) pay tens of

millions of dollars in refunds and redress to allegedly harmed

consumers. The order dated Monday did not provide a reason for

the decision.

However, Toyota ( TM ) said it welcomed the CFPB's action and was

committed to "doing the right things" for Toyota ( TM ) buyers.

"We will continue to enhance our practices to deliver the

best possible customer experiences," the company said in a

statement.

In 2023, the CFPB ordered Toyota ( TM ) to pay a $12 million

penalty and $48 million to car buyers who had been harmed since

2016.

According to the CFPB, thousands of borrowers complained

that dealers lied about whether "add-on" products offering

protection for things such as damage, theft or out-of-warranty

coverage were mandatory, or that Toyota ( TM ) rushed the paperwork so

buyers would not realize how much they were paying.

The regulator said Toyota ( TM ) made it "extremely cumbersome" to

cancel the bundles, including by routing more than 118,000

borrowers to a hotline where agents were instructed to dissuade

cancellations, and often failed to provide refunds.

The 2023 settlement had been due to last five years.

In a statement, former CFPB Director Eric Halperin, who

resigned in February, said the decision amounted to an

inexplicable corporate pardon.

"The Trump CFPB doesn't want to just pull back on enforcing

the law, it wants to actively reward lawbreakers instead," he

said.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for

comment.