Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

Pursuant to section 1028(b) of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (Bureau) is issuing this final rule to regulate arbitration agreements in contracts for specified consumer financial product and services. First, the final rule prohibits covered providers of certain consumer financial products and services from using an agreement with a consumer that provides for arbitration of any future dispute between the parties to bar the consumer from filing or participating in a class action concerning the covered consumer financial product or service. Second, the final rule requires covered providers that are involved in an arbitration pursuant to a pre-dispute arbitration agreement to submit specified arbitral records to the Bureau and also to submit specified court records. The Bureau is also adopting official interpretations to the regulation.

On May 15, 2017, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) published a Request for Information Regarding the Small Business Lending Market (RFI), which provides that comments must be received on or before July 14, 2017. On May 23, 2017, the Bureau received a letter from thirteen industry trade associations requesting a 60-day comment period extension for this RFI. The additional time is requested in order to develop meaningful responses to the RFI. The Bureau believes the extension will allow all stakeholders the opportunity to provide more robust responses that will further develop the Bureau's understanding of the small business lending market and support its rulemaking process to implement section 1071 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank Act). In response to this request, the Bureau has determined that a 60-day extension of the comment period is appropriate.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (Bureau) is issuing policy guidance on its supervisory and enforcement priorities regarding early compliance with the final rule it issued in August 2016 (2016 Mortgage Servicing Final Rule) amending certain of the Bureau's mortgage servicing rules.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (Bureau) is requesting a new information collection, titled, ``Debt Collection Quantitative Disclosure Testing.''

The Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (Bureau) is conducting an assessment of the ATR/QM Rule under the Truth in Lending Act (Regulation Z), in accordance with section 1022(d) of the Dodd- Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. The Bureau is requesting public comment on its plans for assessing this rule as well as certain recommendations and information that may be useful in conducting the planned assessment.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) seeks information about the small business lending market. Section 1071 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd- Frank Act) amends the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) to require financial institutions to compile, maintain, and report information concerning credit applications made by women-owned, minority-owned, and small businesses. In an effort to inform the Bureau's work on the business lending data collection rulemaking to implement section 1071, the Bureau seeks to learn more about the small business financing market, including understanding more about the products that are offered to small businesses, including women-owned and minority-owned small businesses, as well as the financial institutions that offer such credit. The Bureau also seeks to learn more about the business lending data that currently is used and may be maintained by financial institutions in connection with credit applications made by small businesses, including women-owned and minority-owned small businesses, and the potential complexity and cost of small business data collection and reporting. The Bureau is also seeking comment from the public on privacy concerns related to the disclosure purposes of section 1071.

The CFPB published a document in the Federal Register of April 28, 2017, announcing the meeting of the Academic Research Council Meeting. The document contained incorrect times and did not contain language as required by the Federal Advisory Committee Act. The document also contained the incorrect RSVP inbox and the incorrect agenda availability date.

This notice sets forth the announcement of a public meeting of the Academic Research Council (ARC or Council) of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (Bureau). The notice also describes the functions of the Council. Notice of the meeting is permitted by section 8 of the ARC Charter.

The Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (Bureau) proposes amendments to Regulation C to make technical corrections to and to clarify certain requirements adopted by the Bureau's Home Mortgage Disclosure (Regulation C) final rule (2015 HMDA Final Rule or the Final Rule), which was published in the Federal Register on October 28, 2015. The Bureau also proposes a new reporting exclusion.

This notice sets forth the announcement of a public meeting of the Community Bank Advisory Council (CBAC or Council) of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (Bureau or CFPB). The notice also describes the functions of the Council. Notice of the meeting is permitted by section 9 of the CBAC Charter and is intended to notify the public of this meeting.

The Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (Bureau) proposes amendments to Regulation B to permit creditors additional flexibility in complying with Regulation B in order to facilitate compliance with Regulation C, to add certain model forms and remove others from Regulation B, and to make various other amendments to Regulation B and its commentary to facilitate the collection and retention of information about the ethnicity, sex, and race of certain mortgage applicants.

The Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (Bureau or CFPB) is proposing to delay the October 1, 2017 effective date of the rule governing Prepaid Accounts Under the Electronic Fund Transfer Act (Regulation E) and the Truth in Lending Act (Regulation Z) by six months, to April 1, 2018.

The Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009 (CARD Act or Act) requires the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (Bureau or CFPB) to conduct a review (Review) of the consumer credit card market, within the limits of its existing resources available for reporting purposes. In connection with conducting that Review, and in accordance with the Act, the Bureau is soliciting information from the public about a number of aspects of the consumer credit card market as described further below.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (``Bureau''), after consultation with the Committee Management Secretariat of the General Services Administration, will establish the Academic Research Council (``the Council'') no less than 15 days from the effective date of this notice. The Advisory Council was established to provide the Bureau's Office of Research advice and feedback on research methodologies, framing research questions, data collection, and analytic strategies.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (``Bureau''), after consultation with the Committee Management Secretariat of the General Services Administration, has established the Consumer Advisory Board (``the Board'') as required by statute. The Board will ``advise and consult with the Bureau in the exercise of its functions under the Federal consumer financial laws'' and ``provide information on emerging practices in the consumer financial products or services industry, including regional trends, concerns, and other relevant information,'' as outlined in section 1014(a) of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (Bureau) is requesting to renew the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approval for an existing information collection titled, ``Fair Credit Reporting Act (Regulation V).''

This notice sets forth the announcement of a public meeting of the Consumer Advisory Board (CAB or Board) of the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (CFPB or Bureau). The notice also describes the functions of the Board. Notice of the meeting is permitted by section 9 of the CAB Charter and is intended to notify the public of this meeting.

The Bureau recognizes that many supervised entities may choose to implement incentive programs to achieve business objectives. When properly implemented and monitored, reasonable incentives can benefit consumers and the financial marketplace as a whole. This bulletin compiles guidance that has previously been given by the CFPB in other contexts and highlights examples from the CFPB's supervisory and enforcement experience in which incentives contributed to substantial consumer harm. It also describes compliance management steps supervised entities should take to mitigate risks posed by incentives.

The Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (CFPB or Bureau), with the concurrence of the Office of Government Ethics (OGE), is issuing this notice of proposed rulemaking for employees of the Bureau. This proposal would amend the existing Supplemental Standards of Ethical Conduct for Employees of the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (CFPB Ethics Regulations) involving: Outside employment for covered employees; Bureau employees' ownership or control of certain securities; restrictions on seeking, obtaining, or renegotiating credit or indebtedness; and disqualification requirements based on existing credit or indebtedness. Additionally, the proposed regulation would clarify and make minor revisions to certain definitions.

Pursuant to the authorities given to the Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (Bureau) under the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank Act) Director Richard Cordray invites the public to apply for membership for appointment to its Consumer Advisory Board (Board), Community Bank Advisory Council, and Credit Union Advisory Council (collectively, Advisory Councils). Membership of the Board and Councils includes representatives of consumers, communities, the financial services industry and academics. Appointments to the Board are typically for three years and appointments to the Councils are typically for two years. However, the Director may amend the respective Board and Council charters from time to time during the charter terms, as the Director deems necessary to accomplish the purpose of the Board and Councils. The Bureau expects to announce the selection of new members in August 2017.

The Bureau is amending the official commentary that interprets the requirements of the Bureau's Regulation Z (Truth in Lending) to reflect a change in the asset-size threshold for certain creditors to qualify for an exemption to the requirement to establish an escrow account for a higher-priced mortgage loan based on the annual percentage change in the average of the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) for the 12-month period ending in November. The exemption threshold is adjusted to increase to $2.069 billion from $2.052 billion. The adjustment is based on the .8 percent increase in the average of the CPI-W for the 12-month period ending in November 2016. Therefore, creditors with assets of less than $2.069 billion (including assets of certain affiliates) as of December 31, 2016, are exempt, if other requirements of Regulation Z also are met, from establishing escrow accounts for higher-priced mortgage loans in 2017. This asset limit will also apply during a grace period, in certain circumstances, with respect to transactions with applications received before April 1 of 2018. The adjustment to the escrows exemption asset-size threshold will also increase a similar threshold for small-creditor portfolio and balloon-payment qualified mortgages. Balloon-payment qualified mortgages that satisfy all applicable criteria, including being made by creditors that have (together with certain affiliates) total assets below the threshold, are also excepted from the prohibition on balloon payments for high-cost mortgages.

The Board and the Bureau are finalizing amendments to the official interpretations and commentary for the agencies' regulations that implement the Consumer Leasing Act (CLA). The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank Act) amended the CLA by requiring that the dollar threshold for exempt consumer leases be adjusted annually by the annual percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W). If there is no annual percentage increase in the CPI-W, the Board and Bureau will not adjust this exemption threshold from the prior year. The final rule memorializes this as well as the agencies' calculation method for determining the adjustment in years following a year in which there is no annual percentage increase in the CPI-W. Based on the CPI-W in effect as of June 1, 2016, the exemption threshold will remain at $54,600 through 2017. The Dodd-Frank Act also requires similar adjustments in the Truth in Lending Act's threshold for exempt consumer credit transactions. Accordingly, the Board and the Bureau are adopting similar amendments to the commentaries to each of their respective regulations implementing the Truth in Lending Act elsewhere in this issue of the Federal Register.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (Bureau or CFPB) is proposing a new information collection titled, ``Consumer Response Customer Response Survey.''

The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank Act) provides for consumer rights to access financial account and account-related data in usable electronic form. The Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (Bureau or CFPB) is seeking comments from the public about consumer access to such information, including access by entities acting with consumer permission, in connection with the provision of products or services that make use of that information. Submissions to this Request for Information will assist market participants and policymakers to develop practices and procedures that enable consumers to realize the benefits associated with safe access to their financial records, assess necessary consumer protections and safeguards, and spur innovation.

The Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (Bureau) announces that the ceiling on allowable charges under section 612(f) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) will remain unchanged at $12.00, effective for 2017. The Bureau is required to increase the $8.00 amount referred to in section 612(f)(1)(A)(i) of the FCRA on January 1 of each year, based proportionally on changes in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), with fractional changes rounded to the nearest fifty cents. The CPI-U increased 49.77 percent between September 1997, when the FCRA amendments took effect, and September 2016. This increase in the CPI-U, and the requirement that any increase be rounded to the nearest fifty cents, result in a maximum allowable charge of $12.00.