The CFPB’s authority should be used in a manner that is consistent with the spirit of the Dodd-Frank Act, America’s Credit Unions President/CEO Jim Nussle wrote to the Senate Banking Committee Tuesday. Nussle outlined several of the industry’s top concerns and recommendations for the bureau ahead of today’s hearing where CFPB Director Rohit Chopra is expected to present the bureau’s semi-annual report to Congress.
In the letter, Nussle recommends several key principles – developed with member credit unions – to guide any CFPB action:
- 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 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.
Nussle reiterated America’s Credit Unions’ legacy organizations both held the position that, given the broad authority vested in the CFPB, a five-person commission would have distinct consumer benefits over a single director structure. He also expressed concerns with various key issues that are top-of-mind for credit unions, including:
- The bureau’s continued attack on so-called ‘junk fees including the Overdraft and Credit Card Late Fees rulemakings;
- The involvement of under-regulated and unsupervised nonbank providers in financial activities, such as offering consumer products that cannot be easily examined by regulators;
- The CFPB’s proposal to implement of Section 1033 of the Dodd-Frank Act; and
- The bureau’s process to propose a rule amending Regulation V, which implements the Fair Credit Reporting Act.
The hearing is scheduled to begin today at 9:45 a.m. Eastern and will be available via livestream on the committee’s website.
