CFPB Director Chopra at CBA LIVE 2023: Retail Banks Help Consumers & Businesses Reach Their Dreams

March 28, 2023

During a fireside chat with Consumer Bankers Association (CBA) President and CEO Lindsey Johnson on day two of CBA LIVE 2023, CFPB Director Rohit Chopra remarked on some of the most pressing issues facing retail banks, from the implications of recent market uncertainty to the implementation of Section 1071 of the Dodd-Frank Act, and more. 

Responding to the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank as well as what steps regulators are considering to prevent additional closures from occurring, Director Chopra stated: 

“I think the market reaction to both of these announcements was fast and furious. We started seeing withdrawals at an extremely high rate in Silicon Valley Bank, and I think by Thursday night, over $40 billion had fled. [...] At the CFPB, I think we’re very hyper focused on where might be the vectors of injury to consumers. Right now, it’s quite muted. We hope that sustains. […] I think you’ll start seeing greater attention about liquidity, managing interest rate risk, making sure that there is a robust capital framework, and of course, quite a bit more on resolution planning and stress testing.”

Commenting on how regulators and industry should prepare for increased risks from misinformation on social media, Chopra said: 

“There is no question that, you know, one viral social media posting really could have a contagious effect. [...] So I’m not really sure there’s a clear solution of that other than us as regulators and industry accepting that faster communication is an opportunity and a risk."

Ahead of the imminent release of a Section 1071 final rule, Director Chopra endorsed a phased approach towards implementation while also welcoming increased collaboration with industry during this process – an idea CBA advocated for in a letter sent to the agency last month:

“We are trying to do our part to make sure that we’re thinking about phasing implementation. We ourselves have to ingest data from many, many lenders across the country. So, I think you will see it happen in phases. […]  We’re also looking at ways to work directly with technology developers and frankly, the industry. The more it is working through consortia and others to find solutions to implement this that will help, we will work with any of them.”

Discussing the Bureau’s recently unveiled Section 1033 SBREFA outline and his desire to see greater supervision of non-bank entities, Director Chopra stated: 

“As a general matter, I put much more emphasis on non-bank supervision. We’re not forgetting about the banks, but much more [focus] on non-bank supervision and especially consumer finance infrastructure and these players. […] But we do have a lot of supervisory authorities. I know you all have asked us to write additional rules on that. In some cases, we already have authority under various service provider relationships, so we're planning to use the whole cadre to look at them. We may in fact establish some rulemaking to ensure we have adequate coverage.”

In closing, Director Chopra conveyed his shared belief in the important role America’s leading banks play to have customers and communities thrive: 

“Consumer and retail banking is the closest thing to real banking, in my view. It’s about serving people and [...] it’s helping people and businesses reach their dreams.”