CFPB extends customer service RFI comment period to Aug. 22

A thirty-day extension to the comment period for the federal consumer financial protection agency’s request for information (RFI) focusing on how banks and credit unions with more than $10 billion in assets respond to consumer inquiries is set for publication Wednesday in the Federal Register.

The RFI was announced June 14 by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and had an initial comment period deadline of July 21. The extension pushes that deadline to Aug. 22, the agency said.

The bureau gave no reason for the extension other than the desire to provide more time.

The CFPB says that under the 2010 Consumer Financial Protection Act, consumers have the right to obtain written documentation about their account from a large bank or credit union with more than $10 billion in assets. “Financial institutions covered by this provision must comply with customer requests for information in a timely manner,” the agency stated.

To date, the CFPB has not enforced or issued additional policy guidance under this legal provision, the bureau stated in its initial announcement.

“Many large financial institutions are increasingly shifting toward algorithmic banking and away from relationship banking,” the CFPB said in a June 14 release. “Today’s initiative is part of a broader effort to restore relationship banking in an era of consolidation and digitization.”

Reg lookup: Request for Information Regarding Relationship Banking and Customer Service