In a new policy statement, the CFPB clarified the Dodd-Frank Act "abusiveness
standard" for supervision and enforcement.
Dodd-Frank Section 1031(a) authorizes the CFPB
to take enforcement actions against a regulated entity that engages
in an "unfair, deceptive, or abusive act or practice"
(sometimes referred to as "UDAAP") in connection with the
sale or offering of a consumer financial product or service. The
CFPB states that the term "abusive" was not well-defined
in Dodd-Frank; nor was there an established body of law
interpreting the term from which one could readily draw on as an
analogy. According to the CFPB, the agency brought 32 enforcement
actions that included an "abusiveness" claim, but 30 of
those actions also charged unfairness or deception for essentially
the same act, meaning that the term "abusive" remained,
as a practical matter, still undefined even by practice. For
reasons explained further in the CFPB's guidance, even the two
remaining enforcement
