The CFPB has issued its financial report for its 2015 fiscal year, which ended on September 30, 2015. The report indicates that the number of CFPB employees grew from 1,443 in FY 2014 to 1,529 in FY 2015. Transfers to the CFPB from the Fed (which are capped by Dodd-Frank at a pre-set percentage of the Fed’s total 2009 operating expenses, subject to an annual adjustment) decreased from $534 million in FY 2014 to $485 in FY 2015. The report also indicates that as of the end of FY 2015, 45% of the CFPB’s employees were in its Supervision, Enforcement and Fair Lending Division. (This percentage was the same as of the end of FY 2014.) Despite the enormous growth in the number of CFPB employees and funding since FY 2011 (663 employees and $162 million in transfers), the CFPB states in the new report that “at the end of fiscal year 2015, the CFPB was still below the steady-state employment levels and funding it estimates it will need to achieve the mission and responsibilities mandated by Congress in the Dodd-Frank Act.”
The report includes the CFPB’s annual report on its civil penalty fund (CPF). It states that as of September 30, 2015, the CPF had $136.6 million in funds available for future allocation to harmed consumers and/or financial education. As in FY 2014, the report indicates there was no allocation for financial education in FY 2015. The report states that in FY 2015, the CFPB collected civil penalties in 37 cases totaling $183.1 million. This represents a substantial increase from the $77.5 million in civil penalties collected by the CFPB in FY 2014. The report also provides information on allocations made to consumers from the CPF during FY 2015.
The report contains an independent auditor’s report from the U.S. Government Accountability (GAO). In the audit report, the GAO states that during its FY 2015 audit, it found that the CFPB had sufficiently addressed deficiencies in its internal controls over reporting of accounts payable that were noted in the GAO’s FY 2014 audit report. However, the GAO states that during its FY 2015 audit, it “continued to find that CFPB did not effectively implement internal controls over the recording of its property, equipment, and software, which led to significant, but not material, misstatements in its financial statements.” Among the other deficiencies noted by the GAO was the CFPB’s failure to have “effective review procedures to timely detect and correct errors in its records.” Director Cordray’s response to the report is included as an appendix.