Deep Dive Episode 250 - Examining the CFPB’s Targeting of Discrimination in Consumer Finance Through UDAAP

Under the Biden Administration, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Rohit Chopra has dramatically increased the substantive reach of the CFPB’s use of guidance documents and examination and supervision powers. This includes the articulation of a new standard of Unfair, Deceptive, or Abusive Acts or Practices (UDAAP) that includes allegedly discriminatory practices. It also has announced it intends to use “dormant” powers from Dodd-Frank that would allow it to conduct supervisory exams on nonbanks or any fintech it believes is risky. Many critics argue that many of these acts should be conducted through notice and comment rule-making processes and point to similar efforts during the Obama Administration when similar extensive use of guidance was treated as equivalent to a rulemaking for purposes of the Congressional Review Act. A major lawsuit has also challenged this assertion of authority by the CFPB. In this episode, experts discuss the specifics of the CFPB’s assertion of expansive authority in these areas, the use of supervision more generally in relation to rulemaking, and the lawsuit that has challenged these acts. Featuring: Brian Johnson, Managing Director, Banking Supervision and Regulation Group, Patomak Global Partners Bryan Schneider, Partner, Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP [Moderator] Todd Zywicki, George Mason University Foundation Professor of Law, Antonin Scalia Law School, George Mason University Visit our website – www.RegProject.org – to learn more, view all of our content, and connect with us on social media.