WASHINGTON–CFPB Director Richard Cordray has responded to a letter sent to him by 329 members of Congress that urged the Bureau to make better use of its exemption authority to provide regulatory relief, especially to credit unions.
The response was to a letter that was shepherded by CUNA and led in Congress by Reps. Adam Schiff (D-CA) and Steve Stivers (R-OH).
In his letter Cordray provided examples of multiple areas in which the CFPB has provided such relief, but CUNA, which said the agency could have done more to date, said its greatest concerns lie in what the agency might do moving forward with new rulemakings.
Specifically, CUNA, as well as NAFCU, has urged the CFPB to use its exemption authority, granted by Congress in section 1022 of the Dodd-Frank Act.
“We were pleased the director responded and do appreciate the steps the CFPB has taken to try to tailor their regulations,” said CUNA’s chief advocacy officer, Ryan Donovan. “But we think there is a lot of opportunity for them to go even further.”
Donovan reiterated that CUNA doesn’t just want the smallest credit unions exempted, it wants all credit unions exempted from CFPB rules, as even the largest credit unions are small when compared to the big banks.
CUNA Deputy Chief Advocacy Officer Elizabeth Eurgubian is particularly concerned with the CFPB using that exemption authority on the rulemakings the agency is expected to make in the future, including around payday loans and overdraft programs. Eurgubian said those rules are in response to “problem areas” in which credit unions have not been involved and for that reason and others CUs should be exempted.