A new era in consumer financial services oversight has begun. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is open for business. It has sweeping, unprecedented regulatory, investigatory, and enforcement authority. And the scope and detail of the restrictions and requirements it will place on mortgage lenders, credit card companies, and service providers to financial institutions continue to unfold.

As they do, we will be there.

Ballard Spahr’s nationally recognized Consumer Financial Services Group is home to an impressive team of regulatory lawyers and litigators who work together to prepare clients for CFPB exams, help them respond to CFPB civil investigative demands, and litigate should an issue arise. Our Mortgage Banking Group combines broad knowledge of the rapidly changing statutes and regulations governing that industry with formidable strength in litigation and depth in enforcement actions and transactions.

We have experience working with people at the CFPB and can facilitate engagement with the Bureau to discuss rulemaking and other key issues.

Regulation and Rulemaking
We assist clients with the public rulemaking process. Our attorneys are regularly retained to submit formal comments on proposed CFPB rules.

Supervision and Examination
We help clients assess their compliance management systems and the systems used by their third-party service providers— including policies and procedures, handling complaints, and internal audits. We conduct fair lending assessments for lenders to determine if any potential disparate impact exists.

And if clients are faced with a real CFPB exam, we assist in responding to inquiries and organizing a presentation to the Bureau.

Enforcement
Ballard Spahr is one of the few firms in the country to represent clients in preparing responses to civil investigative demands by the CFPB. We help clients manage electronic discovery and hard copy discovery discussions and productions and have experience filing petitions to modify or set aside CIDs. And we are well positioned and well equipped to defend CFPB enforcement actions.

The knowledge and experience of our team, including our CFPB Monitor bloggers, has been recognized by leading publications covering the financial services sector—American Banker, National Law Journal, Bloomberg, The Los Angeles Times, The Wall Street Journal—which have called on our attorneys to comment on CFPB-related issues.

The CFPB Monitor is a go-to resource for up-to-the-minute bulletins, thoughtful analysis, and an opportunity for discourse on this important new force in consumer protection law.

Welcome! And please join us in the conversation….

The Consumer Financial Services Group at Ballard Spahr