The CFPB has reaffirmed its decision not to tailor rules for small financial institutions, CUNA officials said Wednesday, as they expressed dismay over the bureau's position.
"In recent meetings with CUNA, state credit union leagues and credit unions, you and your staff have indicated that the bureau has no intention to and does not believe it has to use the exemption authority to tailor its regulations toward the abusers of consumers, despite the overwhelming message from Congress," CUNA and state credit union leagues said in an Aug. 10 letter to CFPB Director Richard Cordray.
The CFPB's decision is not new; it simply reaffirms agency policy.
The credit unions said that while 28 Democratic senators sent the CFPB a letter supporting the bureau's payday loan proposal and 103 members of Congress said they expressed the bureau's arbitration plan, some 399 Democrats and Republicans have sent letters asking the bureau to use its statutory exemption authority to ensure that an unnecessary burden is not placed on small financial institutions.
CUNA and the state league said that Congress gave the bureau the power to exempt any class of financial institution from its rules.
"Where there is no evidence of harm to or abuse of consumers, the bureau should exercise this authority so that providers that have been serving consumers in a safe and affordable manner can continue to do so efficiently," they said in the letter.
CUNA and the credit unions said the bureau's decision to ignore the request sent by 399 members of Congress is "baffling and disrespects the consumers who elected the Congress."
They said due to regulations, credit unions' cost of compliance has jumped from $4.4 billion in 2010 to $7.2 billion in 2014.
"With every rulemaking that ignores the statutory and congressional message, the bureau makes it harder for credit unions to fulfill their mission," the credit union leagues and CUNA concluded.
© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
