Bureau formally announces conferences on consumer protection; first to focus on abusive acts, practices

A series of conferences “exploring” consumer protections in financial services will be held in the future, the federal consumer financial protection agency said Thursday, with the first to focus on clarifying the meaning of abusive acts or practices under Section 1031 of the Dodd-Frank Act.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) gave neither dates or a timeline for the conferences (referred to as “symposia”), and only said the first would focus on the abusive acts or practices issues.

That conference, the agency said in a release, will include topics ranging from abusive acts or practices, behavioral law and economics, small business loan data collection, disparate impact and the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, cost-benefit analysis, and consumer authorized financial data sharing.

In announcing the series of conferences, bureau Director Kathleen (“Kathy”) Kraninger said it is aimed at “stimulating a proactive and transparent dialogue to assist the Bureau in its policy development process, including possible future rulemakings.” She said that, during each symposium, the agency will host a discussion panel of experts with a variety of viewpoints on the topic.

The agency said additional details on dates and panelists “will be forthcoming.”

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Announces Symposia Series