On April 26, 2022, CFPB Director Rohit Chopra testified before the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs in conjunction with the CFPB’s submission of the Semiannual Report to Congress. In his speech, Chopra enumerated the CFPB’s efforts to align with the objectives that Congress set out for the agency.
According to Chopra, the Bureau will focus its efforts on the following:
Enforcement on Repeat Offenders and Other Major Market Actors. The CFPB has filed lawsuits against large firms including FirstCash, TransUnion, and MoneyGram. According to Chopra, the Bureau is shifting enforcement resources away from investigating small firms and instead focusing on repeat offenders and large players engaged in large-scale harm.
Enhancing Transparency Through Guidance. The CFPB will increase its issuance of guidance documents, such as advisory opinions, compliance bulletins, policy statements, and other publications. This will help entities comply with laws by either providing further clarity where needed, drawing attention to an already clear legal requirement, and promoting consistency among the regulators.
Rethinking its Approach to Regulations. Chopra said that the CFPB will take meaningful steps to carry out legislative directives. In addition, it will prefer simple and “bright lines” when creating rules and regulations.
Listening and Learning from the Business Community. Since large depository and nondepository institutions have direct access to the CFPB, a key priority for the Bureau will be to engage with institutions without direct access to the CFPB, including small banks and credit unions. It will also reach out to other businesses and associations that are deeply affected by the laws the agency administers.
Promoting Competition. As tasked by the Congress to ensure that markets for consumer financial products and services are fair, transparent, and competitive, the CFPB is implementing rules under Section 1033 and will be launching other initiatives to increase the pool of firms competing for customers based on quality, price, and service.
Preparing for the Era of Big Tech and Big Data in Banking. The CFPB will be very focused on how new technologies and systems can play a role in creating more economic activities. The Bureau is currently studying the risks of allowing big technologies to have access to data about consumers and business and how it will affect the financial services ecosystem.
The copy of Chopra’s written testimony can be found here.
