Written by Michael Coleman, Regulatory Compliance Counsel
Yesterday, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) launched its new Consumer Complaints Database for credit cards, you can read about the details of the Complaint Database in our blog post from yesterday. Note that the database will only contain information of credit unions directly supervised by the CFPB, those with over $10 billion in assets.
Regarding the purpose of the database, the CFPB stated that: "Our goal is to improve the transparency and efficiency of the credit card market to further empower American consumers." You can take a look at their policy statement for more details. The CFPB has proposed adding complaints to the database about other financial products and services in the near future.
At the top of the Complaint Database site there is the following disclosure:
"This contains data from the consumer credit card complaints received by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. We do not verify the accuracy of these complaints, but we do take steps to confirm a commercial relationship between the consumer and the identified company."
The purpose of the disclaimer is to let people know that what is listed in the database are complaints, but more importantly, that the CFPB is not asserting the validity of the complaint. You may be asking yourself "Well, isn't this like trying to unscramble an egg?" A good question. The disclosure of unfounded compliants could impact a financial institution's reputation - an issue that NAFCU strenuously raised in our comment letter to the CFPB.
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Testimony on the Hill. Thursday June 21, 2012, Robert Marquette, president and CEO of Members 1st FCU in Mechanicsburg, Pa., and a NAFCU Board Member, will testify before the House Subcommittee on Investigations, Oversight and Regulations concerning credit unions' work with the Small Business Administration (SBA). You can read more about the upcoming testimony in this NAFCU Today article.
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NAFCU's BSA Webcast. Now is the perfect time to get your annual BSA training. Check out NAFCU's June 27th webcast: BSA for Compliance Experts. Sign up by TODAY, June 20, to Save $100!
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