The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) adjusted the maximum amounts for its civil penalties, as required by the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990. The final rule became effective Jan. 15, 2022.
Each year, the civil penalties maximums are given a “cost-of-living” adjustment. This is defined as a percentage by which the Consumer Price Index for all-urban consumers (CPI-U) for the month of October exceeds the CPI-U for the prior month of October in the preceding year. This is designed so that civil penalties keep pace with inflation and retain their deterrent effect and promote compliance with the law.
For 2022, the annual adjustment is 1.06222. The new penalty amounts for violations against the Consumer Financial Protection act are: first tier $6,323; second tier $31,616; and third tier $1,264,622. Civil penalties for Interstate Land Sales Full Disclosure Act are $2,203 per violation, with an annual cap of $2,202,123.
Each failure under the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act is as $103 penalty with $207,183 as the annual cap. SAFE Act violations have a $31,928 penalty, and the first violation of Truth-in-Lending Act has a penalty of $12,647 with subsequent violations costing $25,293.