Monica Jackson
Office of the Executive Secretary
Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection
1700 G Street NW
Washington, DC 20552
Re: Request for Information Regarding Bureau Civil Investigative Demands and
Associated Processes, Docket No. CFPB-2018-0001
Dear Ms. Jackson,
The Financial Services Roundtable,1 Consumer Bankers Association,2 and Consumer
Mortgage Coalition3 (collectively, the Associations) appreciate the opportunity to comment on
potential changes to the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (Bureau or CFPB) Civil
Investigative Demands (CID) and associated processes.4
INTRODUCTION AND EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Associations and their members believe a well-functioning Bureau is critical to
maintaining a thriving and stable consumer finance marketplace. Our concerns lie not with the
Bureau’s mission but with the methods the Bureau has used at times to pursue that mission.
At times, the Bureau has wielded its considerable investigation powers without first
considering alternative and more tailored approaches and without sufficient regard for the impact
on regulated entities, the long-term impact on the consumer financial marketplace, or the opportunity costs of the Bureau’s use of enforcement resources. We believe that each of these
factors should be weighed in the Bureau’s strategy.
In our members’ experience, the Bureau has used CIDs in a manner that has been opaque,
burdensome, and often unfair to the financial services industry that the Bureau regulates.
Although the Bureau’s Rules Relating to Investigations (Rules) are similar to those of other
federal enforcement agencies in some ways, the Bureau’s practices are generally much more
rigid, less efficient, and more burdensome than those of other federal agencies. In the experience
of our members, the Bureau’s CIDs are overbroad, issued after insufficient coordination with
non-Bureau law enforcement partners, and often handled without regard to balancing burden on
the CID recipient with the needs of the Bureau and the realities of the recipient’s data
management systems.
Monica Jackson
Office of the Executive Secretary
Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection
1700 G Street NW
Washington, DC 20552
Re: Request for Information Regarding Bureau Civil Investigative Demands and
Associated Processes, Docket No. CFPB-2018-0001
Dear Ms. Jackson,
The Financial Services Roundtable,1 Consumer Bankers Association,2 and Consumer
Mortgage Coalition3 (collectively, the Associations) appreciate the opportunity to comment on
potential changes to the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (Bureau or CFPB) Civil
Investigative Demands (CID) and associated processes.4
INTRODUCTION AND EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Associations and their members believe a well-functioning Bureau is critical to
maintaining a thriving and stable consumer finance marketplace. Our concerns lie not with the
Bureau’s mission but with the methods the Bureau has used at times to pursue that mission.
At times, the Bureau has wielded its considerable investigation powers without first
considering alternative and more tailored approaches and without sufficient regard for the impact
on regulated entities, the long-term impact on the consumer financial marketplace, or the opportunity costs of the Bureau’s use of enforcement resources. We believe that each of these
factors should be weighed in the Bureau’s strategy.
In our members’ experience, the Bureau has used CIDs in a manner that has been opaque,
burdensome, and often unfair to the financial services industry that the Bureau regulates.
Although the Bureau’s Rules Relating to Investigations (Rules) are similar to those of other
federal enforcement agencies in some ways, the Bureau’s practices are generally much more
rigid, less efficient, and more burdensome than those of other federal agencies. In the experience
of our members, the Bureau’s CIDs are overbroad, issued after insufficient coordination with
non-Bureau law enforcement partners, and often handled without regard to balancing burden on
the CID recipient with the needs of the Bureau and the realities of the recipient’s data
management systems.
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