CFPB Reaffirms Plan to Overhaul Payday Lending Rule

The CFPB “will address reconsideration of the rule on the merits as well as address changes to its compliance date.”

The CFPB has reaffirmed its plan to issue revised payday lending rules “no later than” early next year”—a proposal that critics say could gut the regulations.

In its latest update to its regulatory agenda, the agency said that rule “will address reconsideration of the rule on the merits as well as address changes to its compliance date.”

The strict payday rule was issued during the tenure of former Director Richard Cordray, who left the agency. Acting Director Mick Mulvaney has raised questions about the rule and the research justifying it.

In a lawsuit filed by a payday lending trade group, the CFPB has sided with the association, saying that the rule, as adopted, may not be fair.

In its regulatory agenda, the NCUA said it plans to issue final rules that could create a new payday loan alternative. The target date for those final rules is December, according to the document, but that date may simply be a placeholder, with the agency issuing the rules sometime in the future.

In its regulatory update, the CFPB also said it is analyzing more than 86,000 comments that were submitted in response to Mulvaney’s requests for information about bureau activities. The agency said that based on those comments, the bureau plans to “refine its rulemaking priorities” no later than the Spring.

The bureau also said it plans to: