CFPB wants consistent enforcement of consumer financial protections

CFPB Director Rohit Chopra yesterday posted a CFPB Blog article to announce a new system for promoting consistent enforcement of consumer financial protections. The CFPB will issue Consumer Financial Protection Circulars to the broad set of government agencies responsible for enforcing federal consumer financial law, with guidance on how the CFPB intends to enforce federal consumer financial law.

The enforcers of federal consumer financial law include, most notably, state attorneys general and state regulators, as well as federal financial regulators such as the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, and the National Credit Union Administration. Some federal consumer financial laws are also enforceable by other federal agencies, including the Department of Justice, the Federal Trade Commission, the Farm Credit Administration, the Department of Transportation, and the Department of Agriculture. In addition, some of these laws provide for private enforcement.

The CFPB will also release Consumer Financial Protection Circulars publicly to increase transparency for the benefit of the public and regulated entities.

Circular 2022-01, issued yesterday, describes the circulars as policy statements under the Administrative Procedures Act that will provide background information about applicable law, articulate considerations relevant to the CFPB's exercise of its authorities, and advise other parties with authority to enforce federal consumer financial law. The Director of the CFPB will authorize issuance of each Consumer Financial Protection Circular, and the CFPB will publish them on its website and in the Federal Register.