The Financial Technology Association (FTA) submitted a letter in response to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (Bureau) regarding the public release of decisions and orders related to certain risk determinations made under its nonbank supervisory authority (the “Rule”).
FTA’s letter reads in part:
“The FTA encourages the Bureau to engage constructively with industry participants to advance policies that provide important consumer protections, while fostering financial services innovation. As previously shared with the Bureau, FTA seeks to advance key policy priorities that would provide immediate benefits to consumers, including: (i) CFPB implementation of open banking regulation under Dodd Frank section 1033 in the United States to empower consumer choice, data security, and privacy; (ii) CFPB amendment of the “Remittance Rule” and related price disclosure standards in order to eliminate hidden fees and ensure consumers have complete information to make informed decisions; and (iii) CFPB guidance on well-accepted AI/ML explainability techniques in consumer lending that would encourage lenders to use available technologies that are proven to expand access and fairness in lending.
“FTA further recognizes the importance of ensuring adherence to consumer protection laws and regulations, which continue to govern financial services activities of banks and nonbanks alike. The following recommendations are focused on ensuring clear, consistent, and fair treatment of nonbanks under the Bureau’s Rule in order to satisfy regulatory objectives and avoid arbitrarily harming one segment of the financial services landscape. On this latter point, harming one segment of financial services providers would undermine the Bureau’s goal of promoting competition and innovation that benefit consumers, as recently reinforced through the Bureau’s announcement of a new Office of Competition and Innovation.”