On May 10, 2018 the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) published its semi-annual regulatory agenda. The agenda includes rulemaking actions in pre-rule, proposed rule, final rule, long-term, inactive, and completed stages. Priorities are clearly changing.
The agency’s Acting Director has decided to reclassify as “inactive” certain rulemakings that had been listed in previous editions of the agenda in the expectation that final decisions on whether and when to proceed with such projects will be made by the next permanent director. The CFPB claims that the changes in designation is not intended to signal a substantive decision on the merits of the projects.
The CFPB is:
- Issuing a final rule to implement changes to the Privacy Rules. The final rule is expected in June 2018
- Conducting follow-up rulemakings as warranted to address issues that have arisen during the process of implementing various mortgage requirements under the Dodd-Frank Act.
- Working to implement section 1071 of the Dodd-Frank Act, which amends the Equal Credit Opportunity Act to require financial institutions to collect, report, and make public certain information concerning credit applications made by women-owned, minority-owned, and small businesses. Pre-rule activities are scheduled to begin in March 2019.
- Tweaking Regulation CC, which implements the Expedited Funds Availability Act. Action is expected in June 2018.
- Engaging in research and pre-rulemaking activities regarding the debt collection market, which continues to be a top source of complaints to the CFPB. A proposed rule will focus on Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) collectors may address issues such as communication practices and consumer disclosures. A Notice of Proposed Rulemaking is expected in March 2019.
- Reconsidering various aspects of a 2015 final rule that amended regulations implementing the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act. The reconsideration could involve such issues as the institutional and transactional coverage tests and the rule’s discretionary data points. A Notice of Proposed Rulemaking is expected in January 2019.
- Reconsidering the 2017 rule titled Payday, Vehicle Title, and Certain High-Cost Installment Loans. At present most of the provisions of that rule are not effective until August 2019. A Notice of Proposed Rulemaking is expected in February 2019.
The agency has moved to the long-term action list a review of subparts B and G of Regulation Z, which implement provisions related to open-end credit generally and credit cards in particular. The CFPB had announced in 2017 that it had decided to engage in a series of reviews of existing regulations inherited from other agencies through the transfer of authorities under the Dodd-Frank Act. The CFPB has reclassified its review of subparts B and G of Regulation Z (the first review in the planned series of reviews) as a long-term action.
Also included on the long-term action list are changes to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, regulations to implement the amendments made by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank Act) to the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act of 1989 (FIRREA) concerning appraisals (AVMs), and modernization of Regulation E and the Electronic Fund Transfer Act.
Clarification of regulatory expectations for overdraft protection plans apparently has been completely dropped from the agenda.