WASHINGTON–The Bureau of Financial Consumer Protection is moving to reduce the size of its Credit Union Advisory Council, Community Bank Advisory Council and Consumer Advisory Council. In essence, it has fired all of the members of the Councils, saying it plans to reconstitute them with fewer members.
Both credit union trade groups have responded with caution, expressing concern that the opportunity for credit unions to provide feedback and input will be diminished.
The Bureau is statutorily required to maintain the Councils, as well as the Academic Research Council. In a statement, the BCFP said it is “transforming (its) Stakeholder Outreach and Engagement work, which includes transitioning from former modes of outreach to a new strategy to increase high quality feedback.”
The BCFP, which earlier this year put out a Request for Information (RFI) on External Affairs’ (EA) external engagements, said the feedback “informed our shift to expand external engagements and modify our Advisory Board and Councils to be one focused tool in the evaluative process.”
“The Bureau will continue these advisory groups and will use the current 2018 application and selection process to reconstitute the current advisory groups with new, smaller memberships,” the Bureau said in a statement. “By both right-sizing its advisory councils and ramping up outreach to external groups, the Bureau will enhance its ability to hear from consumer, civil rights, and industry groups on a more regular basis.”
Credit Union Response
In response, CUNA’s Chief Advocacy Officer, Ryan Donovan, said, “If the leadership of the Bureau was a multi-person, bipartisan commission versus a single director, it would likely be much more difficult to fire the entire Consumer Advisory Board. It is long overdue for consumer groups and policymakers to take the politics out of consumer financial protection and support a commission to run the Bureau. Furthermore, we appreciate the input the Credit Union Advisory Council has provided the Bureau throughout the years. This Council is a valuable asset and should be preserved as it has been critical in educating the agency on the credit union difference, the unique not-for-profit structure and overall mission of credit unions. CUNA strongly encourages the Bureau to continue engaging credit unions in its external outreach to gain a better understanding of credit union business model, specifically as it relates to how regulations affect operations and service to consumers.”
NAFCU’s EVP/General Counsel Carrie Hunt added, "The [CUAC] has been an ardent advocate for key industry issues since its inception in 2012. The CUAC serves an important and constructive purpose, and one of the biggest frustrations our members had while serving on the CUAC under previous CFPB leadership was that their recommendations rarely were put into practice. We are hopeful that the bureau's new approach to public outreach, including town halls and other forums, will allow for even more direct feedback from the credit union industry."
The Bureau said it plans to host additional town hall meetings, including one scheduled for tomorrow, June 8, in Topeka, Kan. That will address elder financial abuse.
CAB Members Had Complained of Being Shut Out
The announcement by the BCFP comes just days after members of the Consumer Advisory Board said they were being ignored by the agency.
The BCFP informed members of the Advisory Board in a memo dated May 30 that it is canceling the meeting scheduled for June 13, and will instead hold two conference calls “to allow you to hear from new leadership about how the bureau will manage the advisory group going forward,” according to a copy of the memo obtained by Bloomberg News.
Bloomberg further reported that group members who learned of the cancellation before the memo went out wrote a letter to Mulvaney saying it follows a pattern that suggests he’s not interested in hearing from the panel, which was created by the Dodd-Frank Act to “provide information on emerging practices in the consumer financial products and services industry.”
The letter was signed by 15 of the panel’s 25 members, including consumer advocates, academics and former bank executives.