Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection 2017 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

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.