In part one of the ACA Huddle CFPB Rule Series, bureau alum Brian Johnson joined ACA’s advocacy and compliance team to provide an overview of the rule and how members’ and the ARM industry’s advocacy paid off. Editor’s note: This article is available for members only.
11/2/2020 17:00
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s final debt collection rule (part one) to update the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act was a long time coming. Now that ACA International’s staff has completed an initial review, there are certainly a few wins for members and the accounts receivable management industry in terms of clarity on communications with consumers and in comparison to the proposed rulemaking and changes suggested by Congress over the years.
This initial review was discussed during the first of an 11-part ACA Huddle series Monday with Brian Johnson, partner in Alston & Bird’s financial services and practices group and the consumer financial services team in Washington, D.C. and the former deputy director of the CFPB, as well as ACA’s CEO Mark Neeb, Vice President and Senior Counsel of Federal Advocacy Leah Dempsey, Vice President-Legal and General Counsel Issa Moe and Corporate Counsel Colin Winkler.
Dempsey noted that the rule has been in the works since the bureau’s inception in 2011, and that ACA members’ advocacy shows in the final rule.
This is most clearly seen in a comparison of ACA’s comments on the proposed rule and what is included in the final version, available here.
“You all deserve the credit for that,” Dempsey said. “We will be continuing our conversations with the CFPB. Some of the suggested changes were made, some were not and we’re going to continue to advocate on the rule.”
Monday’s ACA Huddle also covered clarity on limited content voicemails, email and text messages and use of consumers’ work email, among other topics. Members may also view a copy of the ACA Huddle presentation as well as listen to the recording.
The final rule won’t take effect until at least late October 2021, ACA previously reported. The final rule becomes effective one year after publication in the Federal Register. ACA will update members when the final rule has been published and the effective date is determined.
ACA will also be covering the impact of the results of the Nov. 3 election on the future of the bureau’s leadership and possibly the rule. The rule could be challenged under the Congressional Review Act and Administrative Procedures Act. The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Seila Law v. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which finds that the CFPB’s single director structure is unconstitutional, also creates a precedent for change in leadership at the bureau.
Possible changes in the makeup of Congress and leadership in the White House after Nov. 3 have the potential to impact the CFPB as well, especially considering the outcome of the Seila Law case. The director of the CFPB may now be removed at will and if there is a party shift after the presidential election, the leadership of the bureau will likely also shift next year.
Irrespective of the election results, ACA is preparing for every outcome. Learn more in our election outlook memorandum, available for members.
ACA Huddle CFPB Rule Series Webinars Continue
ACA’s panel of experts continues to review the comprehensive rule and will be providing detailed analysis and compliance resources throughout this series of webinars, as well as in ACA Daily and in member alerts as necessary. Log on to acainternational.org and select My ACA to subscribe to Member Alerts under email subscriptions.
Recordings of the webinars will be available for members on the CFPB Rule Series website. You can register for the series, complimentary for members, here.
The next ACA Huddle as part of the series, 11 a.m. CST Tuesday, Nov. 3, will focus more on limited content voicemail messages and call frequency.
Speakers include David Kaminski, partner, Carlson & Messer LLP in Los Angeles, Rick Perr, attorney, Kaufman Dolowich Voluck in Philadelphia, and Jay Gonsalves, president, Action Collection Agencies Inc., in Middleboro, Mass.
Thank you to the sponsors of the ACA Huddle series: Hinshaw & Culberston LLP, Ontario Systems, RevSpring Inc. and Venable LLP.
Related Content from ACA International:
A Closer Look at Communications Requirements in CFPB Final Debt Collection Rule