Don’t Let CFPB Uncertainty Distract You from What Matters
Remember the Equifax breach last year? The one in which cyber criminals gained access to the sensitive data of 143 million Americans—over half of the U.S. adult population? The one that led millions of those millions to freeze their credit files? The one that caused Equifax CEO Richard Smith to resign?
Yeah, maybe don’t count on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to handle that one.
This week, Reuters reported that CFPB Acting Director Mick Mulvaney “has pulled back from a full-scale probe of how Equifax Inc failed to protect the personal data of millions of consumers, according to people familiar with the matter.”
If you’ve followed the CFPB up until now, this news might cause cognitive dissonance, so let’s reiterate: the same federal agency that has processed over a million consumer complaints and fined lenders billions of dollars since 2010 now appears to be backing off one of the biggest cases—with the broadest alleged damage to consumers—in its history.
It’s enough to make a compliance officer call it a day and head to the bar.
But wait, as we’ve mentioned before, the CFPB is just one spoonful of letters in a fair lending-flavored alphabet soup, and others—such as the FTC, the DOJ, and state AGs—are bubbling up to the surface. The latest news is that the CFPB may be allowing the FTC to lead the Equifax investigation.
Don’t get burned. In our next webinar, Time for a Modern Compliance Program, we’ll show you how an automated compliance management system can keep your business risk-free and humming along smoothly atop this regulatory quagmire. In this webinar, you’ll get an update on the current state of affairs when it comes to the world of fair lending. And you’ll leave with some tactical next steps you can take to stay flexible and focused on what matters: building your business.
