Acting CFPB Director Uejio Says He Will Rescind Kraninger’s Business-Friendly Policies

Newly-installed Acting CFPB Director Dave Uejio promised Thursday that the CFPB will reverse Trump Administration policies that he believes weakened agency supervision and enforcement — starting with the Military Lending Act.

“We are planning to rescind public statements conveying a relaxed approach to enforcement of the laws in our care,” he said in an email to CFPB staff that was made public Thursday.

Uejio is acting director while Rohit Chopra, nominated by President Biden, goes through the Senate confirmation process. Uejio and Chopra served under former Director Richard Cordray, an Obama Administration nominee. Cordray, the agency’s first director, adopted a strict regulatory regime. However, during the Trump Administration, the CFPB adopted a more business-friendly approach.

Credit union trade groups clearly favored the Trump Administration regulatory regime.

“The Bureau has made several regulatory changes over the last three years that have right-sized the regulatory burden on credit unions in the interest of improving the financial well-being of credit union members,” CUNA President/CEO Jim Nussle wrote in a recent letter to Biden.

The new administration has already pledged it will reverse the regulatory changes that credit union trade groups favored.

The Trump Administration insisted that it did not have the legal authority to enforce the Military Lending Act, which is intended to protect service members from predatory lenders.

“As of today, it is the official policy of the CFPB to supervise lenders with regard to the Military Lending Act,” Uejio wrote in his email.

Senate Banking Committee Member Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.), who has disputed the Trump Administration’s position on the MLA, endorsed Uejio’s decision.

“The Military Lending Act makes an enormous difference for active-duty members of the military, and I am pleased the CFPB will fully uphold the law once more and use the tools at their disposal to shield our troops from abusive practices,” Reed said.

Uejio said the CFPB will be reversing other Trump Administration policies, vowing to take “bold and swift action on racial equity.” He said he plans to “elevate and expand” existing investigations and exams and start new ones.

“This of course means that fair lending enforcement is a top priority and will be emphasized accordingly,” he said. “But we will also look more broadly, beyond fair lending, to identify and root out unlawful conduct that disproportionately impacts communities of color and other vulnerable populations.”

Kathleen Kraninger, the Trump Administration’s CFPB director, had said the agency was going to be flexible with financial institutions, saying that because of the pandemic, the agency would not take action against institutions that make a good faither effort to follow the law.

Uejio said the agency must take “swift action” to help consumers in the middle of the pandemic crisis. He said the agency will focus supervision and enforcement tools for overseeing the companies responsible for COVID relief.