Citing a laundry list of 94 separate items – under six separate categories – of “work” accomplished, the director of the federal consumer financial protection agency Tuesday celebrated her first year as head of the organization.
Among the highlights on the list: Issuance of the first proposed rule affecting debt collectors under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) since the law was passed in 1977; and issuance of proposed rulemakings on payday lending to delay the compliance date and rescind certain underwriting determinations.
Kathleen (“Kathy”) Kraninger, director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), said that since she was sworn in as the principal of the agency, she and bureau have “greatly enhanced consumer protection by harnessing the resources provided by Congress to be more effective and comprehensively utilized.”
In a release, the agency said Kraninger has met with more than 800 “consumers, consumer groups, state and local government officials, military personnel, financial institutions, academics, non-profits, and former and current Bureau advisors, and traveled to 17 states.”
In the list of 94 work accomplishments, Kraninger grouped them into the six areas of: providing clear rules of the road through rulemaking (23 items), creating a culture of compliance (7), enforcing the law against bad actors (22), educating and empowering consumers to make better informed financial decisions (30), enhanced inter-agency coordination (6), and “promoting a more inclusive, effective and efficient organization” (6).
Among the work accomplishments listed:
- Issuance of the first proposed rule to implement the requirements and prohibitions applicable to debt collectors under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) since it was passed in 1977.
- Release of Notices of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) on Payday Lending to delay the compliance date and to rescind requirements that lenders make certain underwriting determinations before issuing payday, single-payment vehicle title, and longer-term balloon payment loans and issuance of a final rule to delay the compliance date.
- Request for public comment on an assessment related to TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure Rule (TRID). “The Bureau intends to address, among other things, the TRID Rule’s effectiveness in meeting the purpose and objectives of Title X of the Dodd-Frank Act and rule,” the bureau said.
- Release of an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPR) announcing the CFPB’s plans to allow the GSE QM Patch to expire in January 2021, or “after an extension to facilitate a smooth and orderly transition from the patch,” and requesting comments about possible amendments to the definition of Qualified Mortgage in the ATR/QM Rule in light of the expiration of the patch.
- Issuance of the first no-action letter (NAL), under a newly revised NAL policy, in response to an application from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to HUD on behalf of more than 1,600 housing counseling agencies to facilitate lender funding for thousands of housing counselors; issued the first NAL Template for mortgage lenders to apply for similar NALs for the same purpose.
- Announced 22 public enforcement actions and settled six previously filed lawsuits, which CFPB said resulted in orders requiring more than $777 million in total consumer relief (more than $600 million in consumer redress and more than $174 million in other relief) and more than $185 million in civil money penalties, before adjusting for suspended amounts. However, CFPB did not outline the amount (or number) of “suspended amounts” issued in those enforcement actions.
Kraninger Marks First Year as Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau