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NAFCU suggests changes to CFPB adjudication process

WASHINGTON, DC (May 8, 2018) — National Association of Federally-Insured Credit Unions (NAFCU) Regulatory Affairs Counsel Andrew Morris today sent a letter to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) suggesting “non-controversial changes” to the bureau’s adjudication process while reiterating that credit unions should not be subject to the CFPB’s supervisory authority.

“To balance the CFPB’s asymmetrical discovery framework, NAFCU recommends that respondents be permitted to depose any party with relevant and material knowledge of the matter, subject to applicable limits of privilege,” said Morris. “In addition, the CFPB should permit respondents to serve interrogatories on third parties and align its rules for enforcing subpoenas with those used by other federal banking regulators.”

Morris also pointed out to the bureau that “no credit union has ever fully proceeded through the CFPB’s adjudication process, and the resolution of supervisory issues before a CFPB tribunal would, in most cases, be strongly disfavored.”

In the letter, Morris made several recommendations to the bureau regarding these processes, including:

a more reasonable deadline for filing answers and notices of appeals – specifically, at least 20 days to file an answer and 30 days to file a notice of appeal;
that the timing be extended to file a protective order (and the CFPB’s waiting period for publishing a notice of charges) until the filing deadline for answers to ensure that confidential information is not unintentionally disclosed;
at least 10 days for movants to provide supplemental information supporting a protective order if requested in order to protect an institution from potential abuse or reputational harm;
eliminate the requirement that the hearing officer in administrative adjudications disfavor motions for extensions of time in order to align the CFPB’s rules with the procedures followed by other federal regulators;
more “permissive and balanced rules” regarding the conduct of discovery so the CFPB’s framework on this matter is more fair.

This letter came in response to the CFPB’s request for information (RFI) issued in February on the bureau’s administrative adjudication process. The CFPB said in its RFI that it is seeking to better understand the benefits and impacts of administrative adjudications and how the existing process could be improved.

For full text of the letter, click here.

About NAFCU

The National Association of Federally-Insured Credit Unions is the only national trade association focusing exclusively on federal issues affecting the nation’s federally-insured credit unions. NAFCU membership is direct and provides credit unions with the best in federal advocacy, education and compliance assistance. For more information on NAFCU, go to www.nafcu.org or @NAFCU on Twitter.