Newsroom

July 23, 2014

More protest CFPB plan on complaint disclosures

July 24, 2014 – Banking and business groups protested CFPB's proposal to include more detailed complaints in its public database in a joint letter Tuesday, saying the proposal "raises many serious legal and practical issues."

The letter was signed by the Financial Services Roundtable, the American Bankers Association, the Consumer Bankers Association, the Clearing House, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, according to The Hill.

CFPB last week announced the proposal to allow consumers to air more detailed complaints about financial products and services in the public Consumer Complaint Database – meaning the narrative of the complaint would be made public while the consumer remained anonymous. NAFCU issued a statement Monday that reiterates the association's concerns about the potential that posting any unverified complaints has for increasing credit unions' reputational risk.

The groups did not go into detail about their objections, but focused on the need for a longer comment period – suggesting 90 days rather than the 30 days currently provided. They also urged CFPB to hold off on the change until related research projects are completed.

The database now has anonymous information about the complaint received, such as the consumer's zip code. The bureau said it would offer companies the chance to have their responses published concurrently with the narrative complaints under the new proposal.