The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Spring 2018 rulemaking agenda shows a change in direction under Acting Director Mick Mulvaney with updated information for actions in pre-rule, proposed rule, final rule, long-term, and inactive stages. With the Bureau under interim leadership pending the appointment and confirmation of a permanent director, Bureau leadership is prioritizing during coming months meeting specific statutory responsibilities, continuing selected rulemakings that were already underway, and reconsidering two regulations issued under the prior leadership, as explained in the preamble.
Business lending data. The Dodd-Frank Act amended the Equal Credit Opportunity Act to require financial institutions to report information concerning credit applications made by women-owned, minority-owned, and small businesses. At the pre-rule stage in spring 2018, the Bureau is seeking public comment on the business lending data that should be collected while minimizing the regulatory burdens on lenders.
Proposed rules. According to the agenda, the Bureau has a number of rules at the proposal stage, including:
- The CFPB is working with the Federal Reserve Board to jointly issue a proposal for implementing the statutory requirement to adjust for inflation the dollar amounts in the Expedited Funds Availability Act.
- The Bureau is preparing a proposed rule focused on debt collectors that will address issues such as communication practices and consumer disclosures.
- The Bureau is considering amendments to various aspects of the 2015 final rule that amended Regulation C 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.
- Reconsideration of the Bureau’s 2017 rule concerning payday, vehicle title, and certain high-cost installment loans. Lenders would not need to comply with the provisions of that rule until August 2019.
Inactive rulemakings. The Bureau has also reclassified as inactive certain other rulemakings that had been listed in previous agendas in the expectation that final decisions on whether and when to proceed with such projects would be made by the Bureau’s next permanent director. Inactive rulemakings include regulations relating to Regulation D, the consumer financial civil penalty fund, overdraft services, and student loan servicing.
Long-term rulemakings. The Bureau also publishes a portion of the Unified Agenda focusing on potential long-term actions beyond the immediate next 12-month period. The Bureau has moved to that list a review of subparts B and G of Regulation Z, which implement the Truth in Lending Act with respect to open-end credit generally and credit cards in particular. The Bureau had announced in 2017 that it had decided to engage in a series of such reviews of existing regulations inherited from other agencies through the transfer of authorities under the Dodd-Frank Act. Because of timing and resource considerations, the Bureau has reclassified its review of subparts B and G of Regulation Z (the first review in the Bureau’s planned series of reviews) as a long-term action.
