NAFSA ED Gary Davis Recommends Important Reforms to CFPB in New Forbes Article

NAFSA Executive Director Gary Davis, recently added to the prestigious Forbes Finance Council, provided his insight on badly-needed reforms at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) this week with Forbes online publication.

Davis found four areas in particular that could use an extensive overhaul, including the agency’s office culture, the consumer complaint database, sovereign tribal relations, and the nurturing of FinTech. Davis further criticized former CFPB Director Richard Cordray for a policy of “regulation by enforcement.”

Davis wrote: “To date, the CFPB has judged its effectiveness solely based on how many fines and penalties it collects. Former Director Cordray regularly boasted to Congress during hearings about the millions his agency had collected from bad actors in this industry. Fines and penalties are necessary and powerful deterrents, but the goal should be to produce a healthy and productive market, not treat fines and penalties as some game where the high score wins.”

On the agency’s interactions with tribes, Davis added, “time is long overdue for the CFPB to start respecting the sovereign rights of Native American tribes and engage in meaningful government-to-government consultations with tribes. Federal agencies are required to “consult” with Indian tribes anytime an agency action could have an effect on a tribe’s sovereign rights or the tribe’s ability to govern its communities. The Bureau has fallen woefully short of its obligations to consult tribal governments on policies the agency has undertaken.”

Read the full story at Forbes here.