CFPB, Prudential Regulators Release Supervisory Coordination Memorandum

FDIC CFPB Examination Dodd-Frank Federal Reserve OCC NCUA

On June 4, the CFPB and the federal banking prudential regulators – the Federal Reserve Board, the National Credit Union Administration, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and the Office of Comptroller of the Currency – jointly released a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) meant to facilitate coordination of supervisory activities. The Dodd-Frank Act grants the CFPB exclusive authority to examine insured depository institutions and insured credit unions with more than $10 billion of total assets (and their affiliates) for compliance with federal consumer financial laws. The prudential regulators retained supervisory authority for all other applicable laws for such institutions, and all supervisory responsibilities for institutions with $10 billion or less in total assets. The Dodd-Frank Act also requires the CFPB and the prudential regulators to share supervisory information and work to minimize regulatory burden by coordinating examinations. The recent MOU seeks to implement those statutory requirements by establishing guidelines for simultaneous examinations and a framework for sharing certain supervisory information. The MOU also sets forth, among other things, a process by which covered institutions can request separate examinations.