The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is already in the midst of enacting changes to some of its rules, namely the requirements for the data collection and reporting stipulated by the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act and its enforcement practices, but those may not be the only rule changes coming from the CFPB.
The CFPB announced Monday that it plans to “periodically” review its regulations and may amend or even abolish existing rules.
According to the CFPB, the review of its rules is stipulated by the Regulatory Flexibility Act, which establishes that agencies should review certain rules within 10 years of their enactment and consider those rules’ impact on “small businesses.”
The purpose of the review is to “minimize any significant economic impact of the rules upon a substantial number of small entities,” the CFPB said.
At the end of each review, the bureau will determine whether the rule should stand in its current form, be revised, or rescinded entirely.
According to the CFPB, it will consider the following factors when determining how to proceed with the rule review:
- The continued need for the rule
- The nature of public complaints or comments on the rule
- The complexity of the rule
- The extent to which the rule overlaps, duplicates, or conflicts with federal, state, or other rules
- The time since the rule was evaluated or the degree to which technology, economic conditions, or other factors have changed the relevant market
As stated, the bureau plans to invite public comment during the review process and will consider those comments in its decision-making process.
According to the CFPB, these reviews will “generally be separate from and in addition to” other Bureau reviews of existing regulation.
The CFPB said that it will begin these reviews approximately nine years after each relevant rule’s publication and plans to have the review finished and course of action determined within 10 years of the rule’s publication.
The CFPB did not specify which rules it plans to review under this process, but the bureau did announce what rule will be reviewed first: the Overdraft Rule.
In 2009, the Federal Reserve Board issued a rule that limits the ability of financial institutions to charge overdraft fees on ATM and other one-time debit card transactions that overdraw consumers’ accounts.
And now, the CFPB is seeking comment on the economic impact of the Overdraft Rule on small entities.
To read the CFPB’s full review plan for the Overdraft Rule, click here.
And to read the CFPB’s plan to review its other rules, click here.
