CFPB Publishes Fall 2021 Rulemaking Agenda

The CFPB recently published its latest semiannual regulatory agenda of planned rulemaking activities as part of the Fall 2021 Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions. The agenda lists the regulatory actions that the Bureau reasonably anticipates that it will consider during the period from November 1, 2021, to October 31, 2022.  Notably, the agenda’s preamble indicates that the upcoming Spring 2022 rulemaking agenda will more accurately reflect the new director’s priorities.

The regulatory agenda lists one item as in the “final rule stage”:

• LIBOR – The CFPB issued a final rule in December 2021 amending Regulation Z to address the anticipated sunset of LIBOR that is currently used by many creditors as the index for calculating the interest rate on credit cards and other variable-rate consumer credit products.  The final rule is effective on April 1, 2022, with the exception of certain changes to two post-consummation disclosure forms that are effective on October 1, 2023. 

The regulatory agenda lists two items as in the “proposed rule stage”:

• Small Business Lending Data Under ECOA – Section 1071 of the Dodd-Frank Act amended ECOA, subject to rules adopted by the CFPB, to require financial institutions to collect and report certain data in connection with credit applications made by women-owned, minority-owned, and small businesses.  The CFPB issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) in August 2021 and the comment period ended on January 6, 2022.
• FIRREA – The CFPB is participating in interagency rulemaking with the Federal Reserve, OCC, FDIC, NCUA, and FHFA to develop regulations to implement the amendments made by the Dodd-Frank Act to FIRREA concerning quality control standards for automated valuation models (i.e., AVMs).  The CFPB estimates the agencies will issue an NPRM regarding amendments to FIRREA in June 2022.

The regulatory agenda lists two items as in the “pre-rule stage”:

• Consumer Access to Financial Records – Section 1033 generally provides that consumers have rights to request information about their own financial accounts (e.g., transaction data).  In November 2020, the CFPB issued an advanced NPRM regarding this topic.  The regulatory agenda further indicates that the CFPB will provide its next pre-rule steps regarding Section 1033 in April 2022.
• Property Assessed Clean Energy Financing (PACE) – Pace financing is a tool for consumers to finance certain improvements to residential real property.  The CFPB anticipates developing regulations concerning the ability-to-repay requirements under TILA in application to PACE transactions, and projects its next pre-rule steps will occur in October 2022.  

Additionally, the regulatory agenda indicates that the CFPB has decided to conduct an assessment of HMDA in connection with planning for future rulemakings.