Prior to deadline, groundswell of support for legislators’ regulatory burden letter

More than 266 legislators signed a letter calling for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to use its authority to protect credit unions as of Friday.

The letter, composed by Reps. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and Steve Stivers (R-Ohio) and addressed to the CFPB, cited a Government Accountability Office (GAO) study that shows how increased regulatory burden for credit unions and other small institutions leads to reduced lending.

“The GAO recently reviewed the impact of regulation on community lenders and found that credit unions and other small banks have reduced consumer lending products because of an increased compliance burden that may not have been intended for them,” the representatives noted in their call for signers. “With major rules already being implemented and new regulations on the horizon, our letter reminds the CFPB that Congress intentionally provided for regulatory flexibility to mitigate collateral damage on smaller financial institutions.”

The letter, which closed Friday, also cites the Dodd-Frank Act section in which the CFPB has “the authority to adapt regulations by allowing it to exempt ‘any class’ of entity from its rulemakings” and pointed out that the letter was sent to encourage continued access to financial products.

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