.svg)
Non-bank financial companies that violate consumer laws will be registered on a nationwide offenders list, thanks to new powers granted to the US Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).
The CFPB has finalised a rule that will lead to the creation of a new registry for tracking corporate offenders that violate consumer laws.
Any non-bank company or individual that has violated a consumer law, or is subject to a federal, state or local government court order, will be added to the registry.
The registry will enable the CFPB to more effectively monitor the marketplace for companies that offer high-risk financial products to consumers.
The registry will be accessible online so that other non-banks, investors and the general public can conduct due diligence on firms.
Rohit Chopra, director of the CFPB, said the registry will also help law enforcement to “detect and deter” repeat offenders.
“Too many American families have been harmed by corporate offenders in a rinse-and-repeat cycle of illegality, where bad actors see fines and penalties as the cost of doing business,” he said.
“Throughout our economy, we have seen fraudsters and scam artists get caught in one part of the country and restart their scheme in a new place, hoping to not get caught again.”
After violating a consumer law, non-banks will not only join the register, but their senior executives must also provide written attestations of their subsequent compliance with relevant orders.
The CFPB said that reining in repeat offenders is a “priority” for the bureau, which has also established a Repeat Offenders Unit.
“The Repeat Offenders Unit will actively ensure that a company, its senior management and its board of directors are not treating any orders as suggestions,” said the agency.
“This national supervision team is responsible for designing and executing comprehensive oversight of supervised entities subject to CFPB law enforcement orders.”
At present, the bureau said its enforcement activities are “heavily focused” on recidivist debt collectors, mortgage lenders, payday lenders and credit reporting companies.
“We are looking beyond fines and penalties in our repeat offender investigations, including a close examination of the individuals involved in calling the shots,” said Chopra. “We are even shutting down lines of business that are at the centre of repeat problems.”
Legal basis
In 2010, under the Consumer Financial Protection Act, Congress gave the CFPB the authority to establish a registry of non-bank offenders.
The act authorises the CFPB to set rules to register covered companies, as long as they are not a federally insured bank or credit union.
“Non-bank firms are often licensed and regulated at the state level, but problems can have consequences across the nation,” said Chopra.
“During the early 2000s, states had attempted to stop many of the abuses in the mortgage market, including those perpetrated by non-banks, but were consistently rebuffed by federal regulators.
“Had a registry such as the one today’s rule establishes been around in the early 2000s, many of the concerns identified by state regulators would have been undeniable.”
In Chopra’s view, a registry containing orders from all jurisdictions will show “important patterns and trends” that can be acted on by regulators and law enforcement.
Additionally, members of the public will have a clearer understanding of growing risks and harms in consumer financial products, and will be able to petition for federal action more effectively.
