CFPB Proposes Online Registry of Nonbank Repeat Offenders

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) on Monday proposed requiring certain nonbank financial firms to register with the agency when they become subject to certain local, state, or federal agency court orders. The agency also proposed a plan to publish the orders and company information in an online registry.

“Protecting American households is a shared effort across local, state, and federal authorities,” said CFPB Director Rohit Chopra in a press release. “The proposed registry will help the CFPB, the law enforcement community, and the public limit the harms from repeat offenders.”

The CFPB says that the online repository will allow the agency to mitigate the risks posed by repeat offenders, as well as monitor lawbreakers subjected to agency and court orders. The CFPB will make the registry public, allowing it to be shared with other regulators and law enforcement agencies.

The CFPB is proposing that covered nonbanks would report certain agency and court orders that are linked to consumer financial products and services. Also, larger nonbanks supervised by the agency would be required to designate a senior executive to submit a written statement about the steps taken to oversee the activities subject to the order.

PYMNTS noted that for insured banks and credit unions, their size and identity are known to the CFPB, and they are covered by four regulators that consistently publish their consumer financial protection orders.

“In contrast, comprehensive, readily accessible information is lacking about the identity of orders issued against nonbanks subject either to the CFPB’s market monitoring authority or to its supervisory authority across the various markets for consumer financial protection products and services,” the Bureau said.