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Legislation Introduced in Both Houses Seeking to Curb Authority of the CFPB and Other Financial Regulators
On February 14, Senator Mike Rounds, a member of the Senate Banking Committee, introduced S. 365, which seeks to amend the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 to bar the transfer of funds from the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System to the CFPB. The bill also would require the CFPB to turn over all penalties it obtains to the United States Treasury. Sen. Rounds also reintroduced the “Taking Account of Institutions with Low Operation Risk (TAILOR) Act” (S. 366)–a bill intended to ease regulatory burden on local banks and credit unions. Specifically, the TAILOR Act would require financial regulators to take into consideration the risk profile and business models of individual financial institutions and tailor those regulations accordingly. The TAILOR Act also would require regulators–including the OCC, the Fed, the FDIC, the NCUA and the CFPB–to conduct a review of all regulations issued since the 2010 passage of the Dodd-Frank Act and revise any regulations that do not conform to the TAILOR Act’s requirements. In addition, the regulatory agencies would be required to provide an annual report to Congress outlining the steps they have taken to tailor their regulations.
On February 15, Senator David Perdue (R-Ga.), along with Sens. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), John Boozman (R-Ark.), Ted Cruz (R-Tex.), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), John Hoeven (R-N.D.), Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.), Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), John Kennedy (R-La.), Mike Lee (R-Utah), Rand Paul (R-Ky.), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), have introduced legislation S. 387 to amend the Consumer Financial Protection Act so that the CFPB would be subject to the regular appropriations process.
Senator Ted Cruz and Representative John Ratcliffe also introduced legislation in their respective chambers that would abolish the CFPB. The pair of bills–S. 370 and H.R. 1031–would “eliminate the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau by repealing title X of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, commonly known as the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010.” As explained by Senator Cruz in a joint press release, the proposed legislation would give “Congress the opportunity to free consumers and small businesses from the CFPB’s regulatory blockades and financial activism, which stunt economic growth.”
Congress Seeks Answers from Bank CEO and Federal Bank Regulators
On September 20, the CEO of a major national bank faced questions from the House Financial Services Committee over consumer account practices uncovered during a recent enforcement action by the CFPB. The CEO will return to Capitol Hill on September 29 for additional testimony in front of the Committee. In addition, the Director of the CFPB and the Comptroller of the Currency faced scrutiny from the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing & Urban Affairs on their agencies awareness of, and failure to prohibit, the bank’s alleged actions for more than two years. In prepared testimony, Director Cordray indicated that the civil penalty levied against the bank was the “largest fine by far that the Consumer Bureau has imposed on any financial company to date” calling it a “dramatic amount as compared to the actual financial harm to consumers” but also “justified here by the outrageous and abusive nature of these fraudulent practices on such an enormous scale.” Director Cordray further stated that this enforcement action should help clarify how the CFPB will continue to analyze and enforce the prohibition on “abusive” practices under its mandate. Meanwhile Comptroller Curry explained how this enforcement action demonstrates the complimentary roles played by the OCC and the CFPB in supervising bank practices.
U.S. Senate Banking Committee Schedules Hearing on Federal Reserve Reform
On March 3, the Senate Banking Committee will hold a hearing entitled, “Federal Reserve Accountability and Reform.” The hearing comes after Dallas Fed President Richard Fisher’s February 13 remarks on the growing concern regarding the Federal Reserve’s current governance structure. Additionally, Senator Rand Paul’s (R-KY) “Audit the Fed” proposed legislation has brought increased attention to the transparency of the Federal Reserve operations and monetary policy. Scheduled witnesses for the hearing include Dr. John B. Taylor of Stanford University and Dr. Paul Kupiec of American Enterprise Institute.
Federal Banking Regulators Testify on "Regulatory Relief"
On February 10, officials from federal and state banking authorities – the Fed, FDIC, NCUA, OCC, and the CSBS – testified at a U.S. Senate Banking Committee on ways the agencies can provide “regulatory relief” to community banks and credit unions, which disproportionately incur burdens to implement the rules and provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act. Specifically, officials from each of the federal banking agencies detailed current initiatives and proposals that would provide less burdensome compliance costs.
Senate Banking Committee Schedules Hearing on "Regulatory Relief"
On February 10, the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs is scheduled to hold its first full committee hearing on financial regulation, “Regulatory Relief for Community Banks and Credit Unions.” Officials from both federal and state banking regulators will give prepared remarks.
New General Counsel Takes Helm at FDIC
On January 15, the FDIC announced Charles Yi as the agency’s new general counsel. Previously, Yi served as staff director and chief counsel on the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Banking and Finance at the Department of Treasury, and as Counsel for the Committee on Financial Services of the U.S. House of Representatives. Richard Osterman, who has served as acting General Counsel, will return to his previous position as Deputy General Counsel.
Senate Banking Committee Elects New Chairman
On January 7, the Republican members of the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs elected Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala) as its new chairman for the 114th Congress. Sen. Shelby previously served as Committee chairman from 2003 to 2006. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) will serve as the Committee’s ranking member.
Congressional Leaders Urge FHFA To Investigate Fannie and Freddie Contractors
On December 11, Representatives Cummings (D-MD), Waters (D-CA), and Moore (D-WI) led the effort to submit a letter to FHFA’s IG requesting that the agency conduct a comprehensive audit to determine if Fannie and Freddie “are taking adequate steps to ensure that preservation companies maintain or service REO properties in compliance with the requirements of the Fair Housing Act.” The letter, which was signed by a total of 26 House Members, suggested that companies contracted by Fannie and Freddie to maintain their REOs provide inferior service within African-American, Latino, and other non-Caucasian communities. The Representatives’ allegations stem from National Fair Housing Alliance (NFHA) research, in addition to complaints filed with HUD and several U.S. banks. Moreover, the letter comes directly after the December 9 Senate Banking Committee hearing, “Inequality, Opportunity, and the Housing Market,” during which Deborah Goldberg, Special Project Director of NFHA, addressed that REOs are managed differently based on the community of the property.
Senate Banking Committee To Hold Oversight Hearing of FHFA
On November 19, the Senate Banking Committee will hold an oversight hearing, “The Federal Housing Finance Agency: Balancing Stability, Growth, and Affordability in the Mortgage Market.” FHFA Director Melvin Watt is a scheduled witness and will give the opening remarks.
Senate Banking Committee Urges SEC To Investigate Time Disparity In Electronic Filings
On November 3, Senators Johnson (D-SD) and Crapo (R-ID) of the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs sent a letter to The Honorable Mary Jo White, Chair of the SEC, regarding an academic study showing that company filings submitted electronically to the SEC are, more often than not, available to private subscribers before the general public. The letter highlights the concern that some investors receive real-time information before it is widely available, and requests that the agency provide the steps it is taking to ensure that such unequal access to trading data is eliminated. Finally, the letter requests an outline of “what [it has] previously done to address any similar issues, how [it] will review for any other discrepancies in SEC systems and how [it] will monitor to avoid such issues in the future.”