CFPB Structure Ruled Unconstitutional And Enforcement Reach Under RESPA Curtailed

Anthony E. DiResta and Kwamina Thomas Williford are Partners, and Cynthia A. "Cindy" Gierhart and Brian Goodrich are Associates in Holland & Knight's Washington, D.C. office.

HIGHLIGHTS:

• The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit has held unconstitutional the current structure of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), condemning the agency's unparalleled independence and its immense power as a threat to individual liberty.
• The ruling will not topple the CFPB; the agency will still continue to operate in substantially the same capacity. However, the identity of the agency will shift from an independent agency to an executive agency, which broadens the president's supervisory powers over it.