Venable CFPB Watch: Introducing the New Sheriff in Town

President Obama will sign into law this week a legislation that will launch a historic reform of the nation's financial regulation; the law will also create the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and transfers to it responsibility for virtually all federal financial consumer protection laws. The CFPB will receive interpretative and rule-making authority over 17 federal consumer protection laws; the CFPB will also have expanded power to require new disclosures for all consumer products and services. Except for exempted financial service providers, the CFPB has been given authority to examine and enforce these laws against large depository institutions, as well as a sizable number of companies not previously directly regulated by the federal government.  Examples of those individuals and establishments that will be subject to the CFPB include, but are not limited to banks, thrifts, and credit unions; consumer finance lenders; mortgage loan originators, loan servicers and brokers; currency exchanges; consumer credit reporting agencies; debt collectors and credit counselors.  Venable LLP has identified several hurdles the new organization will face including staffing, effective management, the administrative rule-making process which will help define the functions of the CFPB.

To review Venable's original alert about this matter, please click here.

Posted by Joshua Hock, Associate Editor, Wealth Strategies Journal