David Uejio, who has worked with the bureau as chief strategy officer, shares his focus on helping consumers impacted by COVID-19 and reviewing supervision and enforcement practices.
2/1/2021 9:00
Acting Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director David Uejio recently released new priorities for the bureau.
“Having joined the bureau in 2011, I have seen firsthand the impact of the bureau’s mission and the incredible work being done by its staff. I know that the bureau’s staff shares my devotion to the bureau’s mission, and I look forward to serving in this latest capacity,” Uejio said in a blog post.
The priorities were first shared with bureau staff and made public Jan. 28. They include relief for consumers facing hardship due to COVID-19 and the related economic crisis as well as racial equity.
“On COVID-19, we need to take swift action now, in order to make sure our actions help people in the middle of the crisis, rather than just cleaning up after the fact. As you know, protecting economically vulnerable consumers is core to the mission of the CFPB and a key reason why the agency was created. It is going to take urgent action for the CFPB to step up to this challenge,” Uejio said.
He noted the bureau will focus its supervision and enforcement tools on overseeing the companies responsible for COVID-19 relief. Uejio identified priorities for supervision and enforcement based on the bureau’s special edition of its Supervisory Highlights report released at the end of January.
The report details prioritized assessments for mortgage servicing, auto and student loan servicing, credit card account management, consumer reporting-furnishing, debt collection, deposits, prepaid cards and small business lending, ACA International previously reported.
“The COVID-19 pandemic had immediate and broad implications for bureau-supervised entities. In a very short period of time, entities needed to adapt to a number of operational challenges, which included state stay-at-home orders, staffing shortages, transition to partial or total remote work, and business closures,” the report states.
Uejio said he has directed the bureau’s Supervision, Enforcement and Fair Lending division to “always determine the full scope of issues found in its exams, systemically remediate all of those who are harmed, and change policies, procedures, and practices to address the root causes of harms.”
The bureau is also reviewing enforcement and supervision policies from the last administration.
ACA International stands ready to work with the new administration and bureau leadership on behalf of members and the accounts receivable management industry.