A final, revised rule on payday lending is anticipated for April of next year, the director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) said Tuesday, following review of approximately 190,000 comments from stakeholders.
In a speech before a gathering of the National Association of Attorneys General in Washington, CFPB Director Kathleen (“Kathy”) Kraninger said she maintains “an open mind about the final rulemaking and the bureau’s efforts related to payday lending.”
In other remarks, the bureau director said the agency continues to consider comments received on its proposed rulemaking for debt collections. The proposal (which generated some 14,000 comment letters), she reminded the group, addresses communications in connection with third party debt collection, and it interprets and applies prohibitions on harassment or abuse, false or misleading representations, and unfair practices in debt collection. She said it also clarifies requirements for certain consumer-facing debt collection disclosures.
She also said the agency has completed testing of consumer disclosures related to time-barred debt disclosures that were not addressed in a May 2019 proposal. “We plan to release a Supplemental Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on this very early in 2020,” she said. “These disclosures are inextricably linked to state law. Reconciling these disclosures could help consumers receive the benefits of federal and state disclosures, while at the same time reducing uncertainty and compliance burdens for debt collectors.”
Kraninger said that, once the supplemental proposal is issued, the agency “will be interested in practical and pragmatic ideas of how to make time-barred debt disclosures work.”
Director Kraninger’s Remarks Before the National Association of Attorneys General Capital Forum