WASHINGTON — The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued a proposal Thursday that would let lenders test various disclosure programs on consumers in an effort to make disclosures more concise and cost-effective.
Any company under the CFPB's oversight will be able to submit proposals on new disclosure programs for consumers, including mortgages and credit card products. If the CFPB qualifies the proposed program, it will give the lender a temporary waiver from current laws to test it.
The proposal is interesting because some bankers have long argued that increased regulation kills innovation, not encourages it. But the CFPB says otherwise.
"As part of our efforts to foster innovation in consumer financial markets, the proposed policy will allow companies to conduct real world trials of disclosure alternatives," CFPB Director Richard Cordray said in a press release. "That will help the bureau identify what works and does not work to provide consumers with the clear information they need to make financial decisions in a marketplace of evolving programs and products."
Their ultimate goal is to get the often cumbersome loan disclosures down to a more "timely and understandable" process for consumers.
The CFPB was given authority through the Dodd-Frank Act to offer such trial periods to qualified lenders. The lender must provide a list of explanations, including how their program is more cost-effective and would safely help consumers.
The proposal is currently open to public comments for the next 60 days. The CFPB said it will list off the approved trial programs and what companies it issues a waiver to on its website.
