The bureau is holding off on restructuring the departments-for now-due to objections from staff.
11/18/2020 14:00
In October, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau started the process to reorganize its supervision and enforcement departments. Now, a month later, it is delaying the project, according to a report from Bloomberg Law.
Bloomberg Law previously obtained a memo from the CFPB outlining the reorganization, which would reportedly require the enforcement office to obtain approval from a new office within the Supervision, Enforcement and Fair Lending Division (SEFL) to initiate new investigations.
However, staff objected to the changes, according to the article.
The latest memo on the delay, written by CFPB Associate Director Bryan Schneider and obtained by Bloomberg Law, said staff raised “important concerns.”
“I continue to believe that SEFL should make changes to its organization, processes, and procedures to remain effective and efficient in protecting consumers in light of experience and new circumstances. However, the feedback I received raised important concerns that warrant more considered thought and analysis,” Schneider stated in the memo, according to Bloomberg Law. “It has also demonstrated the need for further engagement around the best solutions for the issues you raised in the SEFL org review.”
The first memo released on the plan in October, also written by Schneider, stated the process would take about six months. According to the first memo, the new reorganization is meant to “increase efficiency, promote role clarity, reduce friction, establish consistency in policy and strategic outcomes SEFL-wide, and leverage existing expertise across SEFL.”
The bureau’s SEFL division ensures compliance with federal consumer financial laws by supervising market participants and bringing enforcement actions when appropriate, according to the CFPB website.
The bureau’s organizational chart on its website was last updated Oct. 5, 2020, and lists a vacant position for policy associate director for the SEFL division.
CFPB Director Kathy Kraninger also signed off on the proposed reorganization, Bloomberg Law reports.