CFPB Publishes RFI and Launches Initiative Focused on Relationship Banking

The CFPB recently published a Request for Information (RFI) “seeking comments related to relationship banking and how consumers can assert the right to obtain timely responses to requests for information about their accounts from banks and credit unions with more than $10 billion in assets, as well as from their affiliates.”

“Relationship banking” is described in the RFI as “an aspirational model of banking that meets its customers’ needs through strong customer service, responsiveness, and care.”  The RFI is part of a broader initiative at the Bureau to restore what the Bureau sees as a decline in relationship banking in an era of consolidation and digitization.  Through the publication of the RFI, the CFPB seeks stories, data, and information from the public on what customer service obstacles consumers face in the banking market, and specifically, what information would be helpful for consumers to obtain from depository institutions pursuant to section 1034(c) of the Consumer Financial Protection Act. 

Comments are due July 21, 2022.