Washington Weekly: CFPB’s Future and the Impact of CDFI Cuts on Credit Unions

By the standards set previously in Q1, this Monday wasn’t as manic as most. In fact there’s an element of “business as usual” in this installment of the Washington Weekly as CFPB workers were called back to work. But the general atmosphere of business uncertainty continues to hang over the nation’s capital as well as the companies following the Trump administration’s continuing navigation of trade finance and domestic financial regulations.

The top story for Karen Webster and QED Investors partner Amias Gerety was the continuing drama around the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). As The New York Times (NYT) reported Saturday (March 15), last week, the watchdog’s consumer response team was summoned back to the office to deal with a backlog of 16,000 complaints. In addition, the report said, the CFPB’s Fair Lending Office is back to preparing its annual report to Congress. And the front page of the agency’s website, which showed a “404 error” message beginning on the day Trump officials arrived at the bureau, is functioning once more.

The question now: What’s next for the CFPB? Gerety, a former assistant secretary of the treasury under Obama, believes the developments of the past week are good for the American consumer and a sign that the administration is taking its responsibilities to keep the agency operating seriously. While there’s a “wait and see” element to Gerety’s view of the CFPB, Webster noted that there’s a lot more hanging in the balance for the agency than just dealing with consumer complaints.

Gerety emphasized ambiguity remains about broader rulemaking and enforcement until a new director is confirmed by the Senate. The incoming leadership could swiftly alter or delay previously enacted regulations, given the Supreme Court’s directive that the agency follow rigorous rulemaking procedures. Gerety offered pragmatic advice to FinTech companies navigating this ambiguity, stressing the importance of maintaining robust compliance standards despite potential regulatory shifts.

“Even as the compliance obligations may be lessened, that actually puts more pressure on you to be operating in good faith relative to your consumers,” Gerety said. “We’re telling people it’s a little bit easier on compliance, but harder on risk.” Until the CFPB’s direction becomes clear, Gerety advises caution, noting, “You can’t follow the policy prescriptions. You have to follow the rules, because that’s the part that has legal force.”

He noted that the confirmation of CFPB director nominee Jonathan McKernan, expected imminently, is likely to be a smooth process and could rapidly clarify the agency’s path forward. “I expect his confirmation to go smoothly,” Gerety said. “He said the right things about following the law,” emphasizing that swift confirmation would help stabilize the agency and resolve uncertainty around pending regulations.

Big Hit to Credit Unions

While the CFPB may have a reprieve, the same cannot be said about the Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund. It was the target of a new executive order from President Trump last week. Established in 1994 as a bipartisan Treasury Department initiative, the fund promotes economic opportunity in underserved communities by supporting mission-driven financial institutions that provide capital and services to individuals and businesses often overlooked by traditional banks. Prior to the recent executive order, the Fund had awarded over $5.1 billion through various monetary award programs and $66 billion in tax credits through its New Markets Tax Credit Program, helping finance over 109,000 businesses and 45,000 affordable housing units in fiscal year 2024. On Friday (March 14), the president  signed an executive order directing the CDFI Fund to be “eliminated to the maximum extent consistent with applicable law” and to “reduce the performance of their statutory functions and associated personnel to the minimum presence and function required by law,” deeming it “unnecessary” alongside six other federal agencies, despite bipartisan congressional support for the program.

As Webster and Gerety discussed, the EO has implications beyond the federal grant program. It has substantial implications for credit unions across the United States. As of January 2025, 495 certified CDFI credit unions serve millions of members in economically distressed areas, and these institutions now face considerable uncertainty regarding funding streams and operational support, according to the fund’s website.

Gerety expressed concern about the recent executive order targeting the CDFI Fund, emphasizing its crucial role in aiding credit unions and community-focused financial institutions nationwide. He explained that nearly 10% of U.S. credit unions hold CDFI certification, leveraging the fund’s grants, subsidies, and affordable housing loans to effectively serve low-income and minority communities.

Gerety described the CDFI Fund as a straightforward, transparent mechanism whose impacts are easily measured, stressing, “It’s super transparent. It’s really easy to track the impact. And we’ve seen the impact now over 30 years transform communities.” He detailed how the fund consistently distributes loans and grants directly to community-oriented financial institutions, driving tangible outcomes. In 2024 alone, CDFI-backed institutions provided funding to 109,000 small businesses and supported the development of approximately 45,000 affordable housing units through $24 billion in community-focused loans and investments, according to Gerety.

The Uncertain Vibe

So it was a Monday in D.C. to be sure. Has it changed the general vibe in Washington? For consumers? Has it changed the general vibe for fintechs and banks? Let’s take the last issue first. Maybe the actions in Washington haven’t directly impacted FinTechs this week. But Klarna’s IPO filing last Friday (March 14) has had a positive effect, Gerety said. (Full disclosure: Gerety’s company, QED Investors was an early stage investor in Klarna but is no longer actively involved.)

“This is great news for FinTech,” he told Webster. “And I think the other thing that’s really interesting with Klarna is they have shifted the mindset in Europe for their customers. Not just to be a way for people to pay, but also a way for people to discover. And I think that that change in consumer behavior is a real testament to the team there. It’s interesting timing given the market term turmoil, but strong businesses that want to be public can survive turmoil in the market.”

And regarding the general vibe in Washington this week? Still uncertain, according to Gerety.

“Maybe you’re in a business where you manufacture with steel. Well, are the tariffs on or off? When are they coming? Should you build a plant here or somewhere else? You don’t know,” he said. “And when you put all that together the right thing to do is just to pause. And unfortunately for the economy, a pause is deadly.”