InfoBytes Blog
Kraninger says Dept. of Ed hindering CFPB's supervision of student loan servicers
On May 16, Senator Warren (D-MA) released an April 23 letter from CFPB Director Kathy Kraninger outlining the Bureau’s efforts to oversee student loan servicers, which was sent in response to an inquiry by six democratic senators. As previously covered by InfoBytes, the senators wrote to the CFPB seeking additional information on the Bureau’s oversight of student loan companies and servicers involved in the administration of the federal Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program (PSLF) and asking about the effect of the Department of Education’s (Department) December 2017 guidance to loan servicing contractors not to produce documents directly to other government agencies. In response, Kraninger noted that since December 2017, the Bureau has conducted “several exams” of student loan servicers, some that included questions regarding PSLF. However, and most notably, Kraninger stated that, “[s]ince December 2017, student loan servicers have declined to produce information requested by the Bureau for supervisory examinations related to Direct Loans and Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP)…based on the Department’s guidance.” The Bureau has pursued “options” to obtain the information necessary for these examinations, according to Kraninger. Additionally, Kraninger noted that creating a new Memorandum of Understanding with the Department is a priority for the Bureau, once a new Student Loan Ombudsman is hired.