8 THE NAFCU JOURNAL JULY–AUGUST 2022 WASHINGTON AND INDUSTRY BRIEFS In late April, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Director Rohit Chopra was grilled by lawmakers during the Bureau's semi-annual report to Congress, and NAFCU raised several concerns about the Bureau’s recent actions and inaction ahead of the hearings. From inquiries sent to large tech firms regarding their payment services and associated data collection and expansions of the CFPB unfair, deceptive, and abusive acts or practices (UDAAP) authority to shots across the bow on fees charged by institutions (aka January’s Request for Information (RFI) on “Junk Fees”), Director Chopra has made quite the splash in the public eye. Since being sworn in late last year, Director Chopra has quickly returned the agency to something reminiscent of the Obama Administration, when former Director Richard Cordray was at the helm, pursuing regulation by enforcement and using inflammatory language to publicly shame institutions for allegedly violating consumer protection laws. But Director Chopra has only filed a handful of enforcement actions and consent orders and hasn’t done much on the regulatory front, so now that his tenure is beyond six months, you may be wondering what to expect from the CFPB in terms of rulemaking and changes to its supervision process. The answer: not much…yet. This will be a slow, but powerful burn. WHAT TO EXPECT Overdraft Focus The biggest item on the CFPB’s near-term agenda is revisiting the rules regarding overdraft protection, as evidenced by the focus placed on this product in the RFI on “junk fees.” Of course, NAFCU continues to publicly push back on the mere insinuation that overdraft fees or any of the fees charged related to deposit accounts, credit cards, and mortgage lending, among other products and services mentioned in the RFI, are the type of hidden, surprise fees the Bureau is defining as “junk fees.” But that likely will not change the course of the CFPB’s path toward re-evaluating the overdraft rule. Although overdraft fees are subject to and limited by state law and therefore cannot currently be capped by the CFPB, the Bureau may require additional disclosures to consumers and attempt to limit the number of fees that may be charged within a certain period. Above all else, the Bureau will use its enforcement authority to monitor overdraft practices. Late last year Director Chopra told reporters that ALL BARK AND NO BITE? PERSPECTIVES ON CFPB DIRECTOR CHOPRA AND THE FUTURE OF THE BUREAU By Ann Petros, NAFCU Vice President of Regulatory Affairs institutions that have a “higher share of frequent overdrafters or a higher average fee burden for overdrafting” will receive increased supervisory attention. The Bureau will also rely on the consumer complaint process to coordinate with the NCUA for those institutions under $10 billion in assets. This is all being pursued under the guise of fostering greater competition in the financial services marketplace, but we at NAFCU know it threatens to fundamentally change credit union fee income structures. “You may be wondering what to expect from the CFPB in terms of rulemaking and changes to its supervision process. The answer: not much… yet. This will be a slow, but powerful burn.”
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy Nzc3ODM=