Former Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Chief Technologist Erie Meyer reportedly alleged in a legal filing that Trump administration officials are set to delete databases holding the agency’s data.
In a declaration filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, Meyer said the data includes compliance and enforcement records, Bloomberg reported Friday (Feb. 14).
“Reports that I have received from within the Bureau reliably indicate that databases holding the CFPB’s data will soon be deleted,” Meyer said in the declaration, per the report. “If that happens, it would result in the immediate and irrevocable loss of data essential to the agency’s core mission.”
The CFPB’s supervisory and examination activities were halted Sunday (Feb. 9) when Russell Vought, head of the Office of Management and Budget, sent an email to CFPB staffers saying that they should not come into the office and should not do any work.
Vought also said he would shut off the agency’s funding, writing on X that he had informed the Federal Reserve that the agency would not take its next draw of appropriated funding because it wasn’t needed to fulfill its duties.
It was reported Thursday (Feb. 13) that the CFPB sent termination notices to dozens of “term employees” who have contracts with end dates, after firing some probationary employees who were in a trial period after starting a new position on Tuesday (Feb. 11).
The suspension of work by the CFPB left the financial services industry wondering what to do next, PYMNTS reported Monday (Feb. 10).
“If nobody’s home, you have financial services entities just trying to make their best guess,” former Obama administration assistant treasury secretary Amias Gerety said Monday during his weekly discussion with PYMNTS CEO Karen Webster.
For FinTechs navigating this uncertainty, Gerety’s advice was to maintain current compliance policies and procedures. “Do not change your policies. Do not change your procedures,” he said.
The risk of noncompliance remains significant, as state enforcement authorities and private rights of action continue regardless of federal enforcement, Gerety said. Moreover, the statute of limitations extends beyond political cycles, creating potential future liability.
