Former Acting Director Mick Mulvaney updated the name from CFPB to BCFP during his tenure; Warren asks for report on how it happened. New director Kathy Kraninger is reviewing the change.
12/19/2018 15:00
In her second week at the bureau, Director Kathy Kraninger is reviewing questions about the its statutory name, costs concerns surrounding a name change, and congressional inquiries.
U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., is also calling for an investigation into the name change at the bureau implemented by Acting Director Mick Mulvaney during his term that ended this month.
“We are concerned that the name change effort imposes unnecessary and significant costs on taxpayers and the business community, deprives the CFPB of funds it can use to protect consumers, and violates legal requirements,” Warren writes in the letter to Mark Bialek, inspector general for the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
According to The National Law Review, bureau Director Kathy Kraninger said she will “take a fresh look” at Mulvaney’s decision to change the name.
A new seal labeled Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection was introduced in March 2018.
On Wednesday, multiple media reports quoting a memo Kraninger sent to bureau staff indicated that she had “halted” steps to change the name to the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection.
“For statutorily required reports, legal filings and other items specific to the Office of the Director, we will use the bureau seal and the statutory name we were given in Dodd-Frank,” Kraninger said in the memo, according to American Banker. “The name ‘Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’ and the existing CFPB logo will continue to be used for all other materials.’”
Kraninger also posted about the decision on Twitter Wednesday.
“As I mentioned on my first day, one of the near-term issues I wanted to tackle is the bureau’s name. To be clear, I care much more about what we do than what we are called. But this issue is an early priority because of implementation decisions that need to be made in real time.
While I certainly understand why Acting Director Mulvaney emphasized following the letter of the law, I also understand that there are a variety of issues to take into consideration. I have sought input from bureau staff, members of Congress, and a variety of stakeholders across the board. After being fully briefed on the costs, operational challenges and the effect on stakeholders, I have carefully weighed the options. In the coming weeks I'm sure questions will emerge on how to implement this decision. In order to address those important questions, I've authorized our Acting Chief Operating Officer to develop and disseminate guidance on use of the name, seal and logo of the bureau.”
Meanwhile, Warren’s letter states “it appears the CFPB did not take the appropriate procedural steps to change the agency’s name. To change its name, the agency would have to formally amend some of the rules it enforces, including the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the Electronic Fund Transfer Act, and certain mortgage regulations—which would impose costs on both the agency and regulated entities. For example, some of these rules include model forms that reference CFPB for entities to use to make disclosures. They would need to be amended through a formal rulemaking, as they were when the CFPB was founded. The agency’s regulatory agenda reflects no plans to initiate those rulemakings.”
Warren helped establish the bureau during the Obama administration and has been one of its top critics since former director Richard Cordray resigned.
Read Warren’s complete letter to the inspector general.