CFPB Proposes Registry for Certain Nonbank ‘Repeat Offenders’
The proposed registry will help the CFPB mitigate risks to consumers, officials say.
On Monday, the CFPB proposed the creation of an online repeat offender registry for particular nonbank organizations that are subject to certain local, state or federal consumer financial violations or court orders.
According to a statement from CFPB officials, the registry would publish the orders and company information online in order to help the bureau identify and mitigate risks to “ensure that supervised companies perform their obligations to consumers.”
“Protecting American households is a shared effort across local, state and federal authorities,” CFPB Director Rohit Chopra said. “The proposed registry will help the CFPB, the law enforcement community and the public limit the harms from repeat offenders.”
According to the proposed rule, the CFPB has asked for the following:
- Covered nonbanks would report certain agency and court orders connected to consumer financial products and services: Generally, nonbanks would have to report final agency and court orders and judgments, including consent and stipulated orders, brought under federal consumer financial protection laws or state laws regarding unfair, deceptive, or abusive acts or practices.
- Larger supervised nonbanks would designate a senior executive to attest regarding the firm’s compliance with covered orders: Larger nonbanks that are supervised by the CFPB would be required to designate a senior executive to submit an annual supervisory written statement attesting to the steps taken to oversee the activities subject to the order and whether the executive knows of any violations of, or other instances of noncompliance with, the covered order.
NAFCU officials appeared to applaud the CFPB’s proposal. “NAFCU has called on the CFPB to pursue additional oversight and supervision of nonbanks that may be skirting the law or regulations and posing risks to consumers,” the organization posted on its website.
In a letter to the CFPB in March 2021, NAFCU President/CEO Dan Berger warned the bureau of the Financial Stability Oversight Council’s findings that nonbank mortgage organizations are “a potential emerging threat to the U.S. economy, specifically with respect to the origination and servicing of mortgage loans held by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae.”
Berger continued, “NAFCU unquestionably supports additional channels to provide unbanked and underbanked consumers with access to financial products and services, but to protect these consumers, entities offering such products and services should be regulated and routinely examined by a federal agency like the CFPB.”
According to the CFPB, the deadline for submitting comments is 60 days after publication in the Federal Register.