Spotlight – CFPB Journal

Trump CFPB nominee lays out views in nomination hearing

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director-nominee Brian Johnson said the agency would fulfill its statutory obligations if he is approved to lead the bureau.

CFPB: Mortgage applications fell last year amid rising interest rates

Driven by an increase in mortgage interest rates, the average monthly mortgage payment increased more than 46 percent to $2,045 in December 2022 from $1,400 the previous year. The median interest rate for a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage was 6.5 percent at the end of last year.

Consumer complaints skyrocket during pandemic

The number of consumer complaints filed in the database of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has skyrocketed since the beginning of the pandemic.

Trump signs reg relief bill

President Donald Trump signed the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act (S.2155), which eases some Dodd-Frank Act requirements, into law on May 24.

CFPB extends money transfer rule exemption

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has finalized revisions to its international money remittances rule which will extend an exemption for certain remittances.

CFPB permits contributions to qualified plans: Justification for cautious optimism?

Often when Congress creates a new agency, those subject to such agency’s jurisdiction anxiously await the implications. Bankers are no exception with respect to the newly created Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). While we hope for the best, the skeptic in us naturally expects draconian consequences and inflexible policies designed to benefit consumers without consideration of the safety and soundness of the financial institution. However, a recent CFPB bulletin provides reason to be cautiously optimistic that the CFPB may be responsive to the business needs of the banking industry under the proper circumstances.

CFPB’s impact on agricultural lending does not extend to Farm Credit System

Agricultural bankers will likely find themselves subject to additional reporting and disclosure requirements, courtesy of the Dodd-Frank Act and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau the law established. But their biggest competition in rural America will not.

Inside the org chart at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

Given that only a basic CFPB organizational chart – without names – exists on the agency’s web site, CFPB Journal did some digging to offer a more thorough look at the other leaders and staff members who will shape the bureau going forward.

Observations on the CFPB Supervision and Examination Manual

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) has issued its initial CFPB Supervision and Examination Manual (Version 1.0). According to the Bureau, the Manual is a guide to how the CFPB will supervise and examine consumer financial service providers that fall within the CFPB’s supervisory authority – depository institutions with more than $10 billion in assets and their affiliates, and nondepository entities. At first blush, the Manual seems familiar and comparable to the examination manuals and procedures currently followed by the Federal banking agencies. Indeed, the introduction pages to the Manual expressly incorporate examination procedures developed under the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (“FFIEC”), and the CFPB Manual states that the Bureau will use the FFIEC’s Uniform Consumer Compliance Rating System. However, upon further review, there are significant differences.