Cordray says prepaid final rule coming ‘soon’

CFPB Director Richard Cordray said a final rule on prepaid accounts will be coming “soon” while a rulemaking process on payday lending will begin “in the coming months,” during remarks Wednesday before the Consumer Bankers Association.

Regarding overdraft fees, Cordray said CFPB is looking into their transparency and opt-in processes. “In our ongoing work on a potential overdraft rulemaking, we are giving careful consideration to when and how overdraft fees are charged and how well consumers can anticipate those charges.”

NAFCU has repeatedly urged the bureau to regard credit unions’ commitment to their members and sound operations before issuing rulemakings on prepaid accounts, payday lending and overdraft services.

Cordray also defended the bureau’s enforcement actions in his speech Wednesday and explained that the enforcement orders should serve as guidance for compliance officers throughout the marketplace. “If the same problems exist in their day-to-day operations, they should look closely at their processes and clean up whatever is not being handled appropriately,” he said. He said the criticism of this approach as “regulation by enforcement” is “badly misplaced.”

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