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Elizabeth Warren has spent much of the past year arguing the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is not as scary as banks think. But as she steps aside, will that really be the case?
July 19
WASHINGTON — Are you a bank with more than $10 billion of assets? Better check your mailbox.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau sent letters Thursday to the 111 large banks it plans to supervise, outlining its approach to bank supervision and enforcement.
"We look forward to gaining a better understanding of your organization, your business strategy, your compliance risks, and your compliance management program," Elizabeth Warren, the bureau's de facto leader, wrote in a letter to bank chief executives.
Warren said the bureau's supervision program will be guided by three main principles: focusing on the risks to consumers, analyzing available data and applying consistent supervision standards.
"As we conduct our reviews, we will focus on an institution's ability to detect, prevent, and correct practices that present a significant risk of violating the law and causing consumer harm," she wrote.
Warren said the bureau would use the same procedures to examine entities that offer the same types of consumer financial products or services, but may have different expectations depending on the size and complexity of the institution.
"Our goal is to have an open and candid dialogue and a constructive relationship in which we can work together to carry out our respective responsibilities, correct any problems that arise, and help ensure that consumers have access to and can benefit from fair, transparent, and competitive markets for consumer financial products and services," she wrote.
The bureau also marked its independence with a website revamp, featuring an online portal for its consumer complaint hotline — it's only taking credit card-related complaints, for now — and a "tell your story" contact form for consumers to relay their experiences with consumer financial products.
The bureau also published a slew of rules and reports Thursday, including: a final list of rules that transfer powers from the other regulators; and interim rules to establish a process for people to seek testimony or records from the CFPB; an interim rule to provide a fair process for resolving enforcement actions; and a rule specifying procedures for state officials to notify CFPB of actions they initiate under the Dodd-Frank Act.
It also released reports this week on the difference between credit scores sold to consumers, and scores used by lenders to make credit decisions, as well as a report recommending principles for improving disclosure of exchange rates for consumers making remittance transfers.
