CFPB Director "Realigns" Priorities in Semi-Annual Report to Congress

In testimony before the Senate Banking Committee, CFPB Director Rohit Chopra offered a progress report on his first six months at the helm and highlighted efforts to "realign" the agency's agenda on behalf of consumers.

Testimony

In the CFPB Fall 2021 Semi-Annual Report to Congress, Mr. Chopra highlighted the agency's shift toward: (i) enforcement actions against repeat offenders and less on small businesses; (ii) increasing transparency through increased use of advisory opinions, compliance bulletins, policy statements and other guidance documents; (iii) uncomplicating the Bureau's "approach to regulations;" (iv) increasing engagement with relevant market participants; (v) promoting greater competition by "lowering barriers to entry and increasing the pool of firms competing for customers based on quality, price, and service;" and (vi) providing research into "Big Tech’s entry into consumer payments in the United States."

Member Statements

Senate Banking Committee Chair Sherrod Brown (D-OH) encouraged Director Chopra, citing the agency's successful efforts on, among others, credit card and overdraft "junk fees," discrimination and bias in the appraisal process, medical debt collections, credit reporting agencies and recent supervision over non-banks and FinTechs.

Senate Banking Committee Ranking Member Pat Toomey (R-PA) criticized Mr. Chopra, stating that, "under Director Chopra, the CFPB is more out of control than ever before." Mr. Toomey asserted that the CFPB is abusing its authority by using disparate impact liability to justify regulation and enforcement, and by circumventing the traditional rulemaking process to implement and enforce rules beyond its scope of authority.