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The CFPB's summer advisory council meetings concluded Thursday. Over the course of two days, members of the Credit Union Advisory Council (CUAC) shared with the bureau credit unions' perspective on a number of issues including faster payments, remittances, debt collection, financial literacy and mortgage market trends.

NAFCU attended both days of meetings; Wednesday CUAC met independently and Thursday was joint council sessions. Here are some highlights from the discussions:

Faster payments: The bureau, during a meeting with CUAC, said it is optimistic about the safety and security features that underlie faster technologies; a number of credit unions expressed concerns about cybersecurity and fraud risks. It also stressed the need for affordability within a faster payments system and that consumers should be aware of fees in advance.

Remittances: The CFPB is currently collecting feedback on its remittance rule (NAFCU-member credit unions can learn more and submit comments through the association's Regulatory Alert). During the CUAC meeting, bureau staff and credit unions discussed what an appropriate safe harbor threshold would be, as well as the time and cost of processing remittances.

Debt collection: Last month, the bureau issued a proposed rulemaking on third-party debt collection (see NAFCU's Regulatory Alert here). CFPB Director Kathy Kraninger during a joint council session indicated a desire to have the debt collection market work for consumers. She also said that a rulemaking related to first-party debt collection is possible. Bureau staff and participants discussed the challenges with communications made via telephone. NAFCU previously urged the bureau to exempt credit unions from any rules related to first- and third-party debt collection, as credit unions are not the bad actors in this space.

Financial literacy: Financial literacy issues were discussed during both CUAC's independent meeting and a joint council session. On Wednesday, the bureau gave updates on its Start Small Save Up initiative, and credit unions shared how they support financial literacy in their communities. Thursday, the conversation focused on elder financial abuse, which a bureau report shows is increasing.

Mortgage trends: The bureau announced it plans to release a report on the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) this summer. The bureau currently has two HMDA initiatives out for comment: notice of proposed rulemaking on the transactional and institutional thresholds used to determine exemptions from reporting requirements under HMDA, and an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPR) on the costs and benefits of reporting certain data points. Kraninger also gave an update on the bureau's five-year assessments of critical rules – TRID is set to be reviewed in October 2020 – and how it will consider these assessments in the beginning of the rulemaking process.