A permanent director at the bureau will allow ACA members to plan accordingly for potential rule changes under new leadership. ACA also urges consideration of legislation to restructure the bureau.
11/26/2018 17:00
ACA International urged the Senate to move forward with the nomination of Kathy Kraninger as director of the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection following Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s, R-Ky., Nov. 14 cloture motion to advance the vote to the Senate floor.
“ACA members benefit from certainty about the bureau’s leadership. When a permanent director is in place there is more clarity about what the BCFP’s priorities are, more precise timelines for rulemaking efforts, and a better understanding of compliance expectations,” CEO Mark Neeb said in a letter to McConnell; Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.; Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Chairman Mike Crapo, R-Idaho; and U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, ranking member of the banking committee.
“Consumers and those participating in the financial services marketplace benefit from this level of confidence, and small as well as larger businesses including ACA members can plan accordingly for potential rule changes and other new compliance expectations,” Neeb said. “To that end, we urge the Senate to vote to confirm the nominee Ms. Kathy Kraninger for the direction position.”
Prior to Kraninger’s nomination hearing before the banking committee in July, Neeb also submitted a letter to Crapo and Brown outlining areas for consideration, including debt collection pre-rule activities, transparency in BCFP enforcement processes and support of legislation to improve its structure and operations, ACA previously reported.
Tom Pahl, the BCFP’s policy director for research, markets and regulation, also recently told attendees at ACA International’s 2018 Fall Forum & Expo, that the bureau is proceeding with the March 2019 timeline for the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and that at this time he does not anticipate the confirmation of a permanent director to impact that timing.
Meanwhile, Neeb again stressed the importance of the Senate’s consideration of legislation to make structural changes to the bureau in his most recent letter to McConnell, Schumer, Crapo and Brown.
“As an overarching matter, ACA remains concerned that the bureau’s current structure, including a single director removable only ‘for cause’ and funding outside the appropriations process, leads to a lack of accountability and uncertainty,” Neeb said. “This uncertainty is not only borne by financial services market participants, including the debt collection industry, but also negatively impacts American consumers, small businesses, and our local economies. As outlined in our attached letter submitted previously to the Senate Banking Committee, we urge the Senate to consider enacting legislation making structural changes to the bureau, replacing the single director position with a multi-member board and placing the BCFP funding under the appropriations process.”
According to a recent report from Politico, there is enough support from Republicans in the Senate to confirm her role to replace the BCFP’s Acting Director Mick Mulvaney, who works with Kraninger in his capacity as director of the Office of Management and Budget.
ACA International will continue to follow this story and provide updates in ACA Daily. Subscribe here for updates.
Related Content from ACA International:
BCFP Director Confirmation Hearing Sets the Stage for Continued Discussion of Reform at the Bureau
U.S. Senate to Consider Kathy Kraninger’s Nomination for BCFP Director
BCFP’s Tom Pahl Provides Candid Update on Debt Collection Rulemaking
Senate Banking Committee Approves Nomination of Kathy Kraninger to Head BCFP
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