Week Ahead: CFPB town hall, BSA reform and more

A number of issues that credit unions care about should make headlines this week.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will host a town hall focusing on debt collection this Wednesday in Philadelphia. The agency has scheduled subject-specific events in the past to issue new draft policy. Because of that, some expect the regulator could issue its debt collections proposal during the event. CFPB Director Kathy Kraninger will deliver remarks during the town hall.

“We heard from the bureau that any potential rulemaking in this area is going to focus mostly on the practices of third-party debt collectors under the Fair Debt Collection [Practices] Act, not necessarily first party so that will be, hopefully, a positive thing for credit unions,” said Alexander Monterrubio, senior director of advocacy and counsel at the Credit Union National Association.

First-party debt collectors would include credit unions, banks and other financial institutions whereas third-party debt collectors are outsourced agencies collecting debt on behalf of other institutions.

The Senate Banking Committee will host a hearing on Tuesday about the “privacy rights and data collection in a digital economy.” The hearing continues a string of congressional efforts to figure out legislation to address cybersecurity and ethical concerns surrounding data collection. Credit unions have previously iterated that data and cybersecurity remains a priority for 2019.

The House Financial Services Subcommittee on Housing, Community Development and Insurance will review both the state of minority homeownership and any barriers in preventing gains in this area.

Despite increases in minority homeownership, current efforts are not enough to close the homeownership gap, according to the Urban Institute. There continues to be a homeownership gap broken down along racial lines, according to 2010 data from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The House Financial Services Committee is also holding a markup on Wednesday where the committee is expected to discuss bills pertaining to the Bank Secrecy Act and anti-money laundering reformation.

"Our members have consistently reported a lack of consistency among examiners in reviewing BSA policies and procedures, which makes it difficult to accurately anticipate how extensively to prepare for an exam," Brad Thaler, who serves as vice president of legislative affairs for National Association of Federally-Insured Credit Unions, previously wrote in March.

Thaler continued that NAFCU members have noted that prudential examiners are too concerned with auditing specific numbers from suspicious activity report filings.