While credit report agencies Experian and TransUnion weren’t part of Equifax’s massive data breach, they will definitely face increased regulatory scrutiny because of it, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Richard Cordray outlined in an interview with CNBC.
There are only three credit bureaus in the nation. One of those, Equifax, revealed earlier this month that it was the victim of a “cybersecurity incident” that potentially impacted as many as 143 million U.S. consumers.
The news put government agencies on high alert to ensure nothing like this happens again.
Investigations on what exactly happened at Equifax are still ongoing, with the company already facing inquiries from the Federal Trade Commission, the House Financial Services Committee, the Senate Finance Committee, the office of New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, and a lawsuit from the state of Massachusetts over the breach.
And on top of Eqifax facing inquiries from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the other two credit bureaus should be ready for changes to the way they conduct business.
In an interview with CNBC (full video below), Cordray said, “It’s also important that we look at the other big credit reporting companies: Experian and TransUnion. We are going to have to have monitoring in place that is preventive. It’s going to have to be a different regime than they’re used to.”
And Cordray isn’t the only regulator assessing all three bureaus. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has also directed the New York Department of Financial Services to issue new regulation that would bring credit reporting agencies under the agency’s supervisory umbrella for the first time.
Under Cuomo’s directive, Equifax and other credit reporting agencies would have to register with the NYDFS, and be subjected to NYDFS oversight.
