House panel plans March 7 oversight hearing on CFPB

Mark those calendars for a March 7 hearing about the federal consumer financial protection agency by the U.S. House committee that has top oversight of the agency, according to a schedule released Monday by the committee’s chairwoman.

House Financial Services Committee Chairwoman Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), in a release, stated that an oversight hearing of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) will be held, titled “Putting Consumers First? A Semi-Annual Review of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.”

The bureau is required under the 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank) to issue a semiannual report of its activities and condition. New Director Kathleen (“Kathy”) Kraninger issued the first semiannual report in her five-year term Feb. 12. However, the report covered a period before Kraninger became chairman (in early December), from April 1 to Sept. 30. In the opening message of the report, Kraninger acknowledged that – but also said the report would “provide a backdrop and a launching pad for a fresh start at this agency.”

Monday’s announcement did not name any witnesses for the March 7 hearing.

Late last week, Waters issued an “open letter” to workers at the CFPB urging them to contact her if they are witnesses to waste, fraud, abuse, or gross mismanagement at the agency.

In the release Monday, Waters said the Financial Services Committee in March would also hold hearings on:

  • A markup of FY2020 budget views and estimates (March 6)
  • “Holding Megabanks Accountable: An Examination of Wells Fargo’s Pattern of Consumer Abuses” (March 12)
  • “Promoting Corporate Transparency: Examining Legislative Proposals to Detect and Deter Financial Crime” (March 13)

Chairwoman Waters Announces March Hearings