The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has published its annual report to the Senate and House Committees on Appropriations for 2016. The report, required by Section 1017(e)(4) of the Dodd-Frank Act, provides a detailed roadmap on the steps the bureau undertook during the year to promote transparency and accountability and meet its statutory responsibilities. It covers the period of Oct. 1, 2015 through Sept. 30, 2016, the CFPB’s 2016 fiscal year.
The report lists the specific responsibilities tasked to the CFPB by the Dodd-Frank Act and explains how the bureau has met those responsibilities. Components of the 2016 report include:
- listening to consumers;
- the CFPB’s budget;
- diversity and inclusion, including the areas of recruitment and hiring;
- staff education and training; and
- consumer resources developed by the bureau.
Regulations and upcoming rulemaking. The CFPB report describes in detail bureau regulations and guidance intended to implement statutory protections. In the last fiscal year, the CFPB issued a number of proposed and final rules that relate to the Dodd-Frank Act, including, but not limited to:
- a proposed rule on arbitration clauses included in certain contracts for a consumer financial product or service;
- a proposed rule on payday loans, vehicle title loans, and other similar credit products intended to address consumer harm;
- a final rule to amend various provisions of the mortgage servicing rules implementing the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act and the Truth in Lending Act; and
- a final rule amending Regulation C, implementing the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act.
The CFPB notes in the report that Section 1071 of the Dodd-Frank Act amends the Equal Credit Opportunity Act to require financial institutions to report information concerning credit applications made by women-owned, minority-owned, and small businesses. The bureau is in its early stages with respect to implementing Section 1071 and is currently focused on outreach and research. In addition, the bureau is working on a proposed rule concerning debt collection practices. Currently, the bureau is continuing to analyze the results of a survey to obtain information from consumers about their experiences with debt collection and plans to publish a report in the coming months.
Other research in preparation of rulemaking includes an analysis of overdraft programs on checking accounts and possible methods to streamline and modernize regulations inherited from other federal agencies.
The report also includes details on materials the CFPB has developed to aid implementation of its rules, such as small entity compliance guides, a HMDA implementation page, and a webinar on the final HMDA rule.
Supervision. During the 2016 fiscal year, the CFPB issued the following public supervisory documents:
- Supervisory Highlights;
- interagency guidance on deposit reconciliation practices;
- guidance on submission of credit card agreements under TILA;
- a compliance bulletin on furnishers’ responsibilities under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (Compliance Bulletin 2016-01);
- a compliance bulletin to provide guidance to creditors, debt buyers, and third-party collectors about compliance with Sections 1031 and 1036 of the Dodd-Frank Act and the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act when collecting debt from consumers (Compliance Bulletin 2015-07);
- a compliance bulletin to remind entities of their obligations under the Electronic Fund Transfer Act and Regulation E when obtaining consumer authorizations for preauthorized electronic fund transfers from a consumer’s account (Compliance Bulletin 2015-06);
- the revised supervisory matter appeals process;
- a compliance bulletin on RESPA compliance and marketing services agreements (Compliance Bulletin 2015-05); and
- guidance for service providers (Compliance Bulletin 2016-02).
The report provides an opportunity to review CFPB guidance issued in FY 2016.
Enforcement activity. The report includes a list of enforcement actions undertaken by the CFPB in the 2016 fiscal year. The bureau took action against a number of companies for consumer protection violations, including actions against an online lender, a credit repair company, a for-profit college chain, auto title lenders, indirect auto lenders, and Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. Violations charged by the CFPB included, among others, unfair or deceptive practices, illegal debt collection practices, and misleading advertising practices.
A full list of enforcement actions can be found in the report.
