CFPB

Former Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Director Richard Cordray and Rohit Chopra, who serves on the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), were the keynote speakers during the University of Michigan’s two-day Consumer Protection in an Age of Uncertainty forum.

They offered warnings about the potential negative consequences to law-abiding businesses and consumers resulting from the loosening of federal consumer protection policies.

Find out more about their takes on the current state the regulatory environment.

Although the past year-and-a-half have seen several changes to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s policies and practices that have resonated positively with lenders and financial institutions of all business models, trade advocates still see room for improvement.

The Mortgage Bankers Association and the Consumer Bankers Association recently spelled out in writing a slew of recommended changes to the bureau’s rulemaking, enforcement and supervisory policies and practices.

Find out more details about what the banking industry’s largest trade organizations are recommending.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) recently issued advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPR) on residential Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) financing programs that would implement a portion of the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief and Consumer Protection Act (EGRRCPA) and address concerns raised by trade advocates.

PACE programs have been criticized by financial trade associations that argue they should be subject to the same federal consumer protection stipulations as other mortgage products.

Find out more details about the ANPR and what trade advocates have said about PACE programs.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) recently issued a bulletin to all entities it supervises with details indicating the data fields examiners will use to test and validate the accuracy and reliability of loan data collected in accordance with Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) requirements as of 2018.

The bulletin outlines the different reporting requirements for banks mandated to comply with expanded HMDA reporting standards and those only responsible for reporting data required by the original HMDA rule.

Read on to learn more details about the bulletin.

With the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) focusing on preventing consumer harm, as CFPB Director Kathy Kraninger stated in her annual report to Congress, companies may be tempted to assume that means the bureau will be spending more time distributing educational materials than looking for compliance violations.

However, that likely is not the case. In fact, the opposite may be true, Garris Horn PLLC Richard Horn told Dodd Frank Update.

Find out how the bureau is likely to go about its revised mission of preventing consumer harm.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) 18th Supervisory Highlights report, the first released since Kathy Kraninger became CFPB director, highlights observations the bureau’s examiners made about potential consumer harm related to automobile lending, deposits, mortgage servicing and remittances.

The report also highlights developments in the bureau’s supervision programs – Supervisory Recommendations – which it will use in addition to its Matters Requiring Attention supervisory tool.

Find out more about what is covered in the report.

During her second congressional hearing in the span of a week, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Kathy Kraninger faced questions from the Senate Banking Committee about her views on data protection, predatory lending in the student loan and payday loan marketplaces and her views on Military Lending Act enforcement and supervision, among other matters.

Kraninger fielded several questions about the bureau’s policies on the collection and protection of consumer data, in both the public and private sectors.

Find out more details about the hearing.

Suggesting the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) could better serve U.S. taxpayers by doing so, Rep. Blaine Luetkeyemer (R-Mo.) urged CFPB Director Kathy Kraninger to dismiss any pending enforcement actions in which consumer harm has not been identified during her recent hearing before the House Financial Services Committee.

The fundamental problem with Luetkemeyer’s suggestion, former CFPB attorney and managing partner at Garris Horn PLLC Richard Horn told Dodd Frank Update, is that, as simple as it sounds, the reality of identifying whether consumer harm has occurred is anything but simple for the CFPB. 

Find out more about the complexities of making such determinations.

Taking the next step in its project to modernize federal examination processes, the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) recently issued a policy statement aimed at promoting clarity and consistency of reports of examination.

The principles include expectations for what information should be included in ROEs, as well as guidance on how that information should be presented to promote consistency, clarity and ease of reference, among other things.

Find out more details about the principles set forth in the new policy statement.

In her first statutorily required appearance before Congress as director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Kathy Kraninger was asked to address the bureau’s plans pertaining to its enforcement of fair lending laws, its stance on ongoing litigation against companies, restitution for harmed consumers and its rules regulating payday lenders and overdraft services.

Questions from Democrats were reminiscent of previous challenges to Kraninger’s commitment to the bureau’s mission, and many pertained to changes enacted under former acting director Mick Mulvaney. Republicans decried Democrats for “badgering” Kraninger and defended her and Mulvaney. 

Find out more details about her testimony.