CUNA, NAFCU & Others Tell CFPB to Stop Rushing Rulemaking Processes

In a letter to the CFPB, 15 trade organizations urged the bureau to follow proper processes concerning proposals under consideration for new rulemaking efforts related to the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). The co-authors of the Nov. 17 letter, which included NAFCU and CUNA, said the CFPB must issue an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR) before it publishes its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking – a procedural step the groups say the CFPB has ignored.

The letter was written in response to a Sept. 15 proposal unveiled by the CFPB called “Outline of Proposals and Alternatives Under Consideration for the Small Business Advisory Review Panel for Consumer Reporting Rulemaking.”

“A rushed, inadequate rulemaking process raises the stakes for dramatic changes to the foundation of the American economy,” the letter stated.

According to a statement from CUNA, the CFPB’s proposals would increase the scope of the FCRA to establish new responsibilities for credit unions.

“The FCRA rulemaking process requires care, thought, and deliberation,” the letter stated. “The CFPB should consider input from a broad array of stakeholders, many of whose voices have not yet been heard,” the letter read.

In the letter, the groups outlined four reasons for the bureau to issue an ANPR:

1. Soliciting the widest range of stakeholder input before making substantial changes to Regulation V that would “overhaul the rules that undergirds the American credit economy.”
2. Building on comments received through the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act (SBREFA) review process to offer more specificity about the regulatory changes under consideration and allow input from a wider array of interested parties.
3. Understanding the impact of and intersections between the bureau’s section 1033 rulemaking – which is in the notice of proposed rulemaking stage – and the FCRA rulemaking.
4. Aligning the process with other rulemakings for complex regulations that have significant impacts on the American economy.

The letter concluded, “An ANPR process could increase the Bureau’s understanding of the impacts its rule would have on consumers, the American economy, and the businesses, nonprofits, and government agencies that use information to serve to consumers drive the American economy. We encourage you to submit the FCRA rulemaking to an ANPR process.”