The CFPB Is Sending Mixed Messages On COVID-19 Flexibility

A&B ABstract: The CFPB's inconsistent statements about the need for flexibility to address the pandemic suggest a deeper game afoot.

CFPB warns that continued COVID flexibility for financial institutions is not prudent.

On March 31, 2021, the CFPB announced it would be rescinding seven policy statements issued last year that provided financial institutions with flexibilities regarding certain regulatory filings or compliance with consumer financial laws and regulations due to the COVID-19 pandemic. One of the rescinded statements, for example, encouraged financial institutions to "work constructively with borrowers and other customers affected by COVID-19 to meet their financial needs" and to that end, "when conducting examinations and other supervisory activities and in determining whether to take enforcement action, the Bureau will consider the circumstances that entities may face as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and will be sensitive to good-faith efforts