CFPB Looks To Improve Complaint Reporting

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is seeking public evidence to ensure that the government watchdog agency is doing everything it can to best protect consumers.

In a release, the CFPB said the agency will publish a series of Requests for Information (RFIs) in the Federal Register seeking comments on enforcement, supervision, rule-making, market monitoring and education activities. “These RFIs will provide an opportunity for the public to submit feedback and suggest ways to improve outcomes for both consumers and covered entities,” the CFPB stated.

This isn’t the first time in recent months the CFPB has sought public comments. In February, the CFPB put out a call for public feedback on the agency’s performance. A press release announced that the Bureau was “seeking information to help assess the overall efficiency and effectiveness of its processes related to the enforcement of federal consumer financial law.”

The RFI – part of a review of all agency procedures that acting director Mick Mulvaney ordered last month – is intended to help the CFPB determine “ways to improve outcomes for both consumers and covered entities.”

According to American Banker, one of the key initiatives about which the CFPB is seeking feedback is how to organize enforcement with other federal or state agencies when there is overlapping jurisdiction. This is something that Mulvaney recently discussed with Comptroller of the Currency Joseph Otting during a 45-minute meeting this week. Afterwards, Otting heaped praise on Mulvaney for his work since taking over the agency in late November.

The job of regulators “is to help our system fulfill its important role in society by ensuring it operates in a safe and sound manner and treats customers fairly,” Otting said in a press release. “But, unnecessary regulatory burden is a waste that places a drag on our entire economy without making the system safer or fairer.” With that in mind, the CFPB is also requesting opinions on whether companies potentially under investigation have “the right to make an in-person presentation to Bureau personnel prior to the Bureau determining whether it should initiate legal proceedings.”