Following the Supreme Court decision last week in Seila Law v. CFPB—which held that the bureau may continue to operate but that its single powerful director must be able to be removed at will by the president—the CFPB today ratified most regulatory actions it has undertaken between Jan. 4, 2012, and June 30, 2020.
“The ratification of previous regulatory actions provides the financial marketplace with certainty that the rules are valid in light of the Supreme Court decision in Seila Law,” the CFPB said. The bureau noted that two actions—the bureau’s July 2017 arbitration rule (which was invalidated by Congress) and its November 2017 payday lending rule (which has been partially rescinded)—were not within the scope of its ratification.
The CFPB also said it would consider whether to ratify additional “legally significant actions,” including certain pending enforcement actions, but that it would not ratify previous actions “that have no legal consequences for the public, or enforcement actions that have been finally resolved.”
