In the days leading up to and immediately following Consumer
Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Director Rohit Chopra’s testimony before
Congress, multiple financial trade groups submitted statements to lawmakers and
offered a snapshot through blog posts of some of the related issues most
pertinent to their members. Some of these are included in the roundup below:
CBA lists CFPB policy recommendations in comment letter
The Consumer Bankers Association (CBA) submitted a comment
letter ahead of Chopra’s testimony before Congress, suggesting various policy
recommendations for consideration. These recommendations included:
·
Urging Congress to pass a Congressional Review
Act resolution to reject the CFPB’s rule limiting credit card late fees,
asserting that it would increase the cost of credit, reduce credit
availability, and increase the negative outcomes for consumers when paying
late.
·
Urging the CFPB to withdraw its proposed rule on
overdraft fees, arguing it would make it increasingly difficult for banks to
offer overdraft services to consumers who benefit from them.
·
Exempting fraud detection and identity
verification from the CFPB’s Fair Credit Reporting Act proposed rule.
·
Broadening coverage under the CFPB’s Dodd
Frank-Act Section 1033 rule as it applies to data providers, making it address
liability more robustly, and meaningfully sunset the practice of screen
scraping.
·
Urging the CFPB to withdraw its advisory opinion
and propose it as a formal rulemaking pursuant to the Administrative Procedure
Act.
·
Encouraging Congress to enact structural reforms
to the CFPB to increase transparency, ensure the CFPB follows the law, and
establish proper checks and balances for the agency, given its scope of
authority.
Read more about the CBA’s recommendations and its full
comment letter here.
ICBA highlights Chopra’s comments on junk fee regs,
trigger leads
Following the congressional hearings with Chopra, the
Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) highlighted four key takeaways
on the association’s blog. The trade group noted Chopra’s statement that credit
unions enjoy a competitive advantage due to their exemption from Community
Reinvestment Act (CRA) requirements that he believes should be re-examined due
to their public subsidy. The organization also noted Chopra’s expressed support
for the goals of ICBA-endorsed H.R. 7297/S.3502, the Homebuyers Privacy
Protection Act, which would limit mortgage trigger lead solicitations
exclusively to customers who provide their consent or lenders that have an
existing relationship to the applicant. The organization also noted Chopra’s
comments on the bureau’s rules on junk fees and their impact on the credit card
market. Read more here.
ABA agrees with Chopra about credit union CRA exemption
The American Bankers Association (ABA) noted its agreement
with Chopra’s take on the CRA exemption enjoyed by credit unions in a blog post
following his testimony before Congress. ABA wrote that it has continuously advocated
for such a change as many credit unions have grown into large financial
institutions that are tax-exempt and receive other government benefits to serve
low-to-moderate income individuals but are not required to demonstrate they are
meeting their service obligations to their communities. Recent purchases of
community banks by credit unions demonstrate the need for CRA expansion, ABA
contended. The association’s full comments are available here.
ACU president outlines policy priorities for CFPB
America’s Credit Unions (ACU) President and CEO Jim Nussle sent
comments to congressional leaders ahead of their semi-annual hearing with Chopra
outlining several key principles developed with member credit unions for the
bureau’s consideration:
·
Appropriate tailoring of regulations to reduce
disruption for community-based financial institutions;
·
Consistency and transparency during the
development and implementation of rulemakings and supervision enforcement
policies;
·
Consultation with the National Credit Union
Administration (NCUA) during the policymaking process to avoid implementation
of duplicative or contradictory policies;
·
Keeping up statutorily mandated feedback
processes and the adoption of “clear rules of the road” to provide certainty
for regulated entities
·
Conduct thorough research prior to the adoption
of a new rule or policy and base policy decisions on relevant data;
·
Ensure continued access to credit from reputable
providers; and
·
Encourage and support innovation in the consumer
financial services marketplace.
The full letter is available on the ACU website here.