CBA to CFPB: Embrace Transparency, Avoid Politics

Jun 01, 2018

The Consumer Bankers Association (CBA) is calling on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to stay out of politics and stay focused on its founding mission.

In a response to a recent CFPB Request for Input on external engagements, CBA Vice President and Associate General Counsel David Pommerehen wrote in a letter to CFPB Acting Director Mick Mulvaney that the regulator would best serve consumers and financial institutions by governing with transparency and offering an “informed policy” that is free from a partisan agenda. He also warned about issuing press statements on enforcement orders that use overstated language that could malign a financial institution’s reputation.

“A well-functioning Bureau is critical to maintaining a thriving and stable consumer finance marketplace, and it is important that the Bureau, as it has done in the past, does not pursue a seemingly predetermined political agenda to unilaterally shape the public message,” Pommerehen wrote. “To accomplish this, CBA believes greater transparency and openness would uphold the agency as an independent and impartial regulator.”

Pommerehen echoed advice offered by Mortgage Bankers Association President and CEO David H. Stevens that the CFPB hold regular stakeholder meetings for policy considerations, adding that the CFPB should seek input from its advisory boards on pending rules and not just finalized rules. However, he stopped short of Stevens’ recommendation for a new advisory council devoted to housing finance policy.

About the author

Phil Hall

Link copied

Published

Jun 01, 2018

Analysis and Data

Mortgage Industry Despairs Over Positive Jobs Report

Leading to 'crushed' expectations of another significant rate cut

The September jobs report came back with flying colors, adding far more jobs than Wall Street economists projected while the unemployment rate ticked down, leading to what can only be called a crushing defeat for mortgage professionals. In response, the average rate for the ...

People On The Move

Pennymac Shakes Up Capital Markets Team

William Chang, Pennymac’s long-time capital markets leader, to "pursue other interests in the mortgage banking industry."

PennyMac Financial Services, Inc. and PennyMac Mortgage Investment Trust announced Thursday that William Chang will step down from his roles as Senior Managing Director and Chief Capital Markets Officer at PFSI, and Senior Managing Director and Chief Investment Officer at PM...

Jan

Uncasville, CT

More from

Regulation and Compliance

Congress Fits Trigger Lead Ban Into The 2025 Budget

Senate Amendment 2358, banning 'abusive' trigger leads, was added to the Senate's Fiscal Year 2025 NDAA

Regulation and Compliance

Sep 23, 2024

Banks' Mortgage Lending Portfolios Laced With Climate Risk

New First Street Foundation analysis finds 57 banks with a total of $627 billion in real estate loans exposed to “material financial risk” from climate impacts.

Analysis and Data

Sep 23, 2024

NEXA's Drawn-Out Legal Battle With Smart Mortgage Centers Gets Dismissed

Lawsuit over alleged "stolen" client information gets dismissed due to a lack of evidence

Courts

Sep 20, 2024

Bank Mergers Face Additional Scrutiny By FDIC

FDIC considers small businesses and residential loan originations when evaluating a merger’s competitive effects.

Regulation and Compliance

Sep 19, 2024

Fair Lending’s New Groove

Recent litigagion may bleed into fair lending and agency regulation