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June 25, 2013 – Thirty-five Republican members of the House of Representatives wrote the CFPB with concerns about the bureau's guidance for indirect auto lenders, questioning whether the bureau's "onerous" requirements would impede consumer choice and requesting the studies upon which the guidance was based.

"It is highly concerning that the agency is issuing such significant new directives without affording the public a proper opportunity to comment on its methodology and analysis for determining whether discrimination has occurred and without addressing the effect of its directives on consumer financing and choice in the intensely competitive auto lending market," the congressmen lawmakers wrote.

The letter was in response to the March 21 guidance on complying with the fair lending provisions of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act. The lawmakers requested studies, analysis and other information that informed the development of the CFPB guidance and an explanation of how the bureau coordinated with other federal agencies. In addition, they requested an explanation of "why the standard rulemaking process, which contains important safeguards for the public, apparently was not utilized."

The signers included Rep. Spencer Bachus, R-Ala., chairman emeritus of the House Financial Services Committee, and Rep. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., chairman of the Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit.

In May, 13 Democratic members of the House Financial Services Committee wrote the CFPB asking for background information on the methodology used by the bureau to find fair lending violations. NAFCU in March aired concerns about the CFPB's approach with respect to indirect lending arrangements, noting the bureau's guidance appears to put credit unions between auto dealers and the CFPB, which has no direct supervisory authority over auto dealers under the Dodd-Frank Act.