WASHINGTON — The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is claiming the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has overstepped its bounds by soliciting comments on its nonbank supervision program.
The bureau issued a "notice and request for comment" in June that identified several credit-related sectors in which it plans to oversee large non-banks, and asked for feedback on how it should determine which “larger participants” should be subject to supervision.
In a comment letter submitted Monday, the Chamber said the bureau lacks the authority to prescribe such rules because it doesn't have a permanent director.
"The secretary and the bureau should therefore cease all development of the 'larger participants' rule until a director has been confirmed," the letter said.
According to a report by the inspectors general of the Treasury Department and Federal Reserve, the bureau may not prescribe rules defining which non-banks are subject to supervision until a permanent director is in place.
Although the notice was issued ahead of the formal rulemaking process, the Chamber said they shouldn’t even be gathering information for a rule that they have no authority to promulgate.
The group also asked the Treasury Department to issue detailed guidance explaining what authority, if any, the Treasury secretary and the bureau have to undertake certain actions without a director.
A CFPB spokesperson was not immediately available for comment.
