CFPB Suggests Shift In Supervision And Enforcement Priorities

On April 16, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) seemingly provided its employees with a memorandum outlining its ongoing supervisory and enforcement priorities (Memo).¹ Although the Memo has not been made publicly available, its contents are consistent with what many in the consumer finance industry assumed would be adopted by the agency's new leadership.

Importantly, the Memo assists entities subject to CFPB supervision and examination by detailing the areas of interest to CFPB leadership and making clear that there is no intention among such leadership to "pursue supervision under novel legal theories," instead relying upon the agency's statutory authority to supervise affected entities. While not fully transparent, it appears likely that this reference to "novel legal theories" is intended to convey to CFPB employees (and the market more broadly) that the agency will not use its statutory authority to designate "larger participants" for supervisory