In Short
The Situation: For the past 10 years, regulated
entities and others have sought more definition concerning the
nature and scope of claims the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
("CFPB") might bring alleging "abusive" conduct
in connection with the provision of consumer financial services or
products.
The Result: On January 24, 2020, the CFPB
issued a policy statement seeking to provide clarity in this area
by announcing that it would only challenge conduct as abusive
"when the harm to consumers outweighs the benefit."
Looking Ahead: It remains to be seen how the
CFPB will apply this cost-benefit analysis and whether and how this
new policy will impact its supervision and enforcement
activities.