U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told members of the House Financial Services Committee on Tuesday he is interested in how the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and its acting director, Mick Mulvaney, is handling the investigation into the data breach at credit agency Equifax.
During Mnuchin’s appearance before the committee, in between questions about Russian sanctions and the stock market, he was asked by Rep. David Scott, D-Ga. if he was aware of Reuters reporting on the bureau's investigation and what he plans to do about it.
“I haven’t spoken to Director Mulvaney about it but I will,” Mnuchin told the committee. “It is something I am going to discuss with him.”
On Monday, Reuters reported that the CFPB has reportedly put the brakes on the investigation into Equifax’s massive data breach that exposed the personal data of 145.5 million people to hackers.
Reuters further reported on Tuesday that the CFPB said it was examining the breach but declined to give any details.
“The bureau is looking into Equifax’s data breach and response,” the agency said in a statement to the news agency.
From Reuters:
Reuters, citing people familiar with the matter, reported on Monday that while CFPB does have an open investigation into Equifax, Mulvaney has reined in the work begun by his predecessor, Richard Cordray.
Mulvaney has not ordered subpoenas against Equifax or sought sworn testimony from executives, routine steps in a full-scale probe, the sources said. Meanwhile, they added, the CFPB has shelved plans for on-the-ground tests of how Equifax protects data, an idea backed by Cordray.
The CFPB also recently rebuffed bank regulators at the Federal Reserve, Federal Deposit Insurance Corp and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency when they offered to help with on-site exams of credit bureaus, the sources said.
