CFPB Name Change Could Cost Businesses $300 Million
Changing the name of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) could cost the businesses it regulates more than $300 million, according to an internal agency analysis obtained by The Hill.
Banks, lenders and other financial services firms subject to CFPB supervision could be required to spend millions of dollars if the agency goes through with a rebranding proposal from acting Director Mick Mulvaney.
The agency, established by the 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street reform law, has been known as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and CFPB since it opened in 2011. It was led by Richard Cordray, a Democrat, from 2012 until his resignation in November 2017.
Mulvaney, a Republican who’s also the White House budget director, replaced Cordray. In April, he began referring to the agency as the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection, shortened to Bureau or BCFP.
The CFPB in March released a new logo that referred to the agency as the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection, and in June flipped the sign in its front lobby to reflect the name change.
The acting chief has said it should be known as the BCFP, reflecting the name codified in the Dodd-Frank legislation that became law.
A CFPB analysis of the proposed name change projected additional costs for banks, mortgage providers, payday lenders and credit card companies under the agency’s watch.
The CFPB enforces dozens of financial regulations meant to protect and inform consumers who have purchased loans or lines of credit. The agency’s analysis found that firms would be forced to spend roughly $300 million total to update internal databases, regulatory filings and disclosure forms with the new name in order to comply with those rules.
An agency analysis estimated that the changes necessary to comply with the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the Electronic Fund Transfer Act and certain mortgage regulations would cost firms $100 million for each rule. The CFPB cited a 2010 cost-benefit analysis of agency name-changes in its internal report.
Those costs would be spread out among the several hundred firms regulated by the CFPB.
An agency spokesman declined to comment on the analysis or how many businesses it would affect.
A name change would cost the agency between $9 million and $19 million, by updating internal materials and its website, according to the analysis. The CFPB is funded through the Federal Reserve system, with fees paid by U.S. banks.