Input will also be accepted (encouraged,
actually) from the public. In early February,
the Treasury established the “CFPB Implementation Team Consumer Inquiry and
Complaint Database,” which is just what its
name says: a database of complaints submitted by individuals directly to the CFPB.
It will also catalog complaints submitted to
federal or state banking regulators, or to the
FTC (and then passed on to the CFPB).
The notice establishing the database identifies
16 separate entities that will have access to its in-
formation. Notably, the public will have access to
only “the form of analytic and statistical reports,
summaries, or extracts in which individual iden-
tities are not revealed, in order to provide infor-
mation about trends and patterns derived from
information contained in complaint records.”
It’s yet unclear whether your bank might
be publicly called out here, but it is clear that
the bureau will be taking these complaints into
consideration when formulating its new regula-
tions, especially if it sees patterns or high num-
bers of certain issues.
We can also probably expect rules on practices
that are thought of as unfair and deceptive, or even
abusive under the Dodd-Frank Act’s new “uDAAP”
(unfair, deceptive, or abusive acts or practices)
standard. these could include overdraft standards
and loan provisions dealing with prepayment
penalties, or servicing rules.
Need an Example of the Bureau’s
influence? The “Petraeus Letter”
The Dodd-Frank Act establishes several dedicated departments within the CFPB, one of
which is the Office of Servicemember Affairs. Holly Petraeus (wife of General David
Petraeus) was chosen by Elizabeth Warren to
establish that office. She recently sent a letter to
the 25 largest servicers in the country, urging
enhanced compliance efforts with the Servicemember Civil Relief Act (SCRA).
ShutterStoCk
In it, she urges these banks “to take steps to
educate all your employees about the financial
protections that the SCRA provides.” She also
suggests that when banks have a reason to
believe a borrower is on active duty (through
a change of address to an APO or FPO, for in-
stance), that the bank contact the customer to
see whether the SCRA’s protections apply.
About the Author
CARL G. PRY, CRCM, CRP, is a senior vice president and compliance manager in the Compliance & Control department at KeyBank in Cleveland, Ohio. He also serves on the ABA Bank
Compliance editorial board. Reach him at (216) 689-
5544 or at
carl_g_pry@keybank.com.
