The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau today finalized a rule requiring certain nonbanks to register information about their company with the bureau along with any agency or court orders concerning consumer protection violations, with that information to be kept by the bureau in a public registry. The CFPB will also require covered nonbanks to file annual reports regarding compliance with the orders issued against them.
In a statement, the CFPB said that while banks, credit unions and many mortgage companies are known to regulators and the public, many other financial companies are not licensed or registered. The bureau added that Congress gave it the authority to register nonbanks, with the rule the first time it has exercised that authority. The rule is effective Sept. 14, with registration to begin Oct. 16.
In comments last year while the rule was still under review, the American Bankers Association raised concerns about CFPB statements that it may next consider imposing similar reporting requirements on banks. The Dodd-Frank Act exempts depository institutions from the CFPB’s registration authority, the association said. There is also no need for such requirements, it added, as the bureau has acknowledged there already are four regulatory agencies that regularly publish consumer compliance information on banks and credit unions, and the largest banks are subject to CFPB supervision.
