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Without an announcement, the CFPB has proposed a rule that would expand its discretion to share confidential supervisory information (CSI) with state attorneys general and other agencies that do not have supervisory authority over companies.

The proposed rule, published yesterday in the Federal Register, would amend the CFPB’s information disclosure rules under 12 CFR 1070.43 to:

  1. Expand the agencies that can receive CSI from federal and state agencies to any “Agency” defined as a “Federal, State, or foreign governmental authority, or an entity exercising governmental authority” regardless of whether it has jurisdiction over the company whose CSI is shared.
… Continue Reading

The American Bar Association (ABA) and the Committee on Consumer Financial Services of the ABA’s Section of Business Law have submitted comment letters on two CFPB proposals. The Committee’s letter comments on the “larger participant” proposal and the ABA’s letter comments on the proposed rule on confidential treatment of privileged information.… Continue Reading

Last week, the CFPB released Bulletin 12-01, in which it took the position that it can demand attorney-client privileged documents from its supervised institutions without the privilege being waived as to third parties.  It reached this conclusion by relying on a federal statute applicable to the federal banking  agencies, even though the underlying statute does not apply to the CFPB. … Continue Reading

In an earlier posting, my colleague Mercedes Tunstall reported on the CFPB’s announcement that prior to the designated transfer date (July 21, 2011), it had put in place memoranda of understanding (MOUs) with various other federal agencies. Mercedes also reported that to her dismay, she could not locate copies of those MOUs in any of the usual places such as the Federal Register.… Continue Reading

The American Bankers Association (“ABA”) recently submitted its comments on the CFPB’s interim final rule regarding the treatment of confidential information obtained by the CFPB.

Among other things, the ABA recommended the CFPB’s proposed information sharing rule be amended to:

• Ensure supervisory information remains confidential and is not disclosed to third parties except in very limited circumstances so as to promote ongoing dialogue and transparency between the CFPB and its supervised institutions;

• Take into account established limitations on the investigative powers of state Attorneys General and other state law enforcement officials so as to limit the disclosure of confidential supervisory information to such state officials to only those circumstances in which those officials exercise authority to enforce applicable law within a judicial process;

• Limit any regular sharing of confidential information (as defined under Section 1070.2 of Dodd Frank and including but not limited to confidential supervisory information) to federal and state agencies that have financial institution supervisory authority over CFPB supervised institutions; and

• State that the CFPB will not normally share confidential information (as defined under Section 1070.2) with third parties.… Continue Reading

One of the Interim Final Rules released by the CFPB, Disclosure of Records and Information Rules, sets forth the CFPB’s position with regard to sharing information that it gathers and obtains though its activities. 

The Rule begins by defining much of the information received or generated by the CFPB as “confidential” – including consumer complaint-related information, “investigative” information obtained through the Bureau’s investigative processes, and “supervisory” information generated by the CFPB’s (or any other entity’s) supervision of financial institutions.… Continue Reading