[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 166 (Wednesday, August 26, 2020)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 52809-52814]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-16749]



[[Page 52809]]

Vol. 85

Wednesday,

No. 166

August 26, 2020

Part XXIII





Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection





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Semiannual Regulatory Agenda

  Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 166 / Wednesday, August 26, 2020 / 
UA: Reg Flex Agenda  

[[Page 52810]]


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BUREAU OF CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION

12 CFR Ch. X


Semiannual Regulatory Agenda

AGENCY: Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection.

ACTION: Semiannual regulatory agenda.

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SUMMARY: The Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (Bureau) is 
publishing this agenda as part of the Spring 2020 Unified Agenda of 
Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions. The Bureau reasonably 
anticipates having the regulatory matters identified below under 
consideration during the period from May 1, 2020, to April 30, 2021. 
The next agenda will be published in fall 2020 and will update this 
agenda through fall 2021. Publication of this agenda is in accordance 
with the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.).

DATES: This information is current as of March 5, 2020.

ADDRESSES: Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection, 1700 G Street NW, 
Washington, DC 20552.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: A staff contact is included for each 
regulatory item listed herein. If you require this document in an 
alternative electronic format, please contact 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Bureau is publishing its spring 2020 
Agenda as part of the Spring 2020 Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory 
and Deregulatory Actions, which is coordinated by the Office of 
Management and Budget under Executive Order 12866. The agenda lists the 
regulatory matters that the Bureau reasonably anticipates having under 
consideration during the period from May 1, 2020, to April 30, 2021, as 
described further below. The Bureau's participation in the Unified 
Agenda is voluntary.\1\ The complete Unified Agenda is available to the 
public at the following website: http://www.reginfo.gov.
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    \1\ The listing does not include certain routine, frequent, or 
administrative matters. Further, the fields ``Unfunded Mandates,'' 
``E.O. 13771 Designation,'' and ``Federalism Implications'' are not 
required for independent regulatory agencies, including the Bureau, 
and, accordingly, the Bureau has indicated responses of ``no'' or 
``Independent Agency'' for such fields.
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    Pursuant to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer 
Protection Act, Public Law 111-203, 124 Stat. 1376 (Dodd-Frank Act), 
the Bureau has rulemaking, supervisory, enforcement, consumer 
education, and other authorities relating to consumer financial 
products and services. These authorities include the authority to issue 
regulations under more than a dozen Federal consumer financial laws, 
which transferred to the Bureau from seven Federal agencies on July 21, 
2011. The Bureau's general purpose, as specified in section 1021(a) of 
the Dodd-Frank Act, is to implement and enforce Federal consumer 
financial law consistently for the purpose of ensuring that all 
consumers have access to markets for consumer financial products and 
services and that markets for consumer financial products and services 
are fair, transparent, and competitive.
    Section 1021 of the Dodd-Frank Act specifies the objectives of the 
Bureau, including ensuring that, with respect to consumer financial 
products and services, consumers are provided with timely and 
understandable information to make responsible decisions about 
financial transactions; consumers are protected from unfair, deceptive, 
or abusive acts and practices and from discrimination; outdated, 
unnecessary, or unduly burdensome regulations are regularly identified 
and addressed in order to reduce unwarranted regulatory burdens; that 
Federal consumer financial law is enforced consistently, without regard 
to the status of a person as a depository institution, in order to 
promote fair competition; and markets for consumer financial products 
and services operate transparently and efficiently to facilitate access 
and innovation.
    As a general matter, the Bureau believes that it can best achieve 
these statutory purposes and objectives by using its various tools to 
focus on the prevention of consumer harm. With specific regard to 
rulemaking, the Bureau seeks to articulate clear rules of the road for 
regulated entities that promote compliance with the law, foster 
competition, increase transparency, and preserve fair markets for 
financial products and services. If Congress directs the Bureau to 
promulgate rules or address specific issues through rulemaking, the 
Bureau will comply with the law. If the Bureau has discretion, the 
Bureau will focus on preventing consumer harm by maximizing informed 
consumer choice, and by reducing unwarranted regulatory burden which 
can adversely affect competition and consumers' access to financial 
products and services. Consistent with these priorities and to enhance 
transparency, the Unified Agenda identifies the rulemaking activities 
in which the Bureau is likely to be engaged over the next 12 months and 
those that are contemplated in the ensuing year.

Rulemaking To Implement EGRRCPA

    The Bureau is conducting the two remaining rulemakings mandated in 
the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act of 
2018, Public Law 115-174, 132 Stat. 1297 (EGRRCPA). As part of these 
rulemakings, the Bureau is working to maximize consumer welfare and 
achieve other statutory objectives through protecting consumers from 
harm and minimizing regulatory burden, including facilitating industry 
compliance with rules.
    First, section 307 of the EGRRCPA amends the Truth in Lending Act 
(TILA) to mandate that the Bureau prescribe certain regulations 
relating to ``Property Assessed Clean Energy'' (PACE) financing. As 
defined by EGRRCPA section 307, PACE financing results in a tax 
assessment on a consumer's real property and covers the costs of home 
improvements. The required regulations must carry out the purposes of 
TILA's ability-to-repay (ATR) requirements, currently in place for 
residential mortgage loans, with respect to PACE financing, and apply 
TILA's general civil liability provision for violations of the ATR 
requirements the Bureau will prescribe for PACE financing. The 
regulations must ``account for the unique nature'' of PACE financing. 
Section 307 of the EGRRCPA also specifically authorizes the collection 
of data and information necessary to support a PACE rulemaking. In 
March 2019 the Bureau issued an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking 
(ANPRM) and is continuing to engage with stakeholders and collect 
information for the rulemaking, including by pursuing quantitative data 
on the effect of PACE on consumers' financial outcomes.
    Second, section 108 of the EGRRCPA directs the Bureau to conduct a 
rulemaking to exempt from the escrow requirement loans made by certain 
creditors with assets of $10 billion or less and meeting other 
criteria, adding to a 2013 rule issued by the Bureau under the Dodd-
Frank Act that created an exemption for creditors with under $2 billion 
in assets and meeting other criteria. In anticipation of future 
rulemaking activity, the Bureau conducted, and in late summer 2019 
released, a preliminary analysis of the number of lenders potentially 
impacted by implementation of the new exemption in section 108 of 
EGRRCPA. This analysis showed that a limited number of additional 
lenders would be exempt under section 108 of EGRRCPA

[[Page 52811]]

once implemented by rule. The Bureau expects to issue a Notice of 
Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) in summer 2020.

Rulemakings To Implement the DFA and Other Statutes

1. Continuation of Other Rulemakings

    The Bureau is continuing certain other rulemakings described in its 
Fall 2019 Agenda to articulate clear rules of the road for regulated 
entities that promote compliance with the law, foster competition, 
increase transparency, and preserve fair markets for financial products 
and services.
    Section 1071 of the Dodd-Frank Act amended the Equal Credit 
Opportunity Act to require, subject to rules prescribed by the Bureau, 
financial institutions to collect, report, and make public certain 
information concerning credit applications made by women-owned, 
minority-owned, and small businesses. The Bureau hosted a symposium on 
small business data collection in November 2019 to facilitate its 
decisionmaking. In addition, the Bureau is working to conduct a survey 
of lenders to obtain estimates of one-time costs lenders of varying 
sizes would incur to collect and report data pursuant to section 1071. 
The Bureau's next step will be the release of materials in advance of 
convening a panel under the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement 
Fairness Act, in conjunction with the Office of Management and Budget 
and the Small Business Administration's Chief Counsel for Advocacy, to 
hear from representatives of small businesses on which Bureau rules to 
implement section 1071 may impose costs.
    In addition, to consider concerns about possible unwarranted 
regulatory burden, the Bureau issued an NPRM in May 2019 to reconsider 
the thresholds for reporting data about closed-end mortgage loans and 
open-end lines of credit under the Bureau's 2015 Home Mortgage 
Disclosure Act (HMDA) rule. The NPRM also proposed to incorporate into 
Regulation C an interpretive and procedural rule that the Bureau issued 
in August 2018 to clarify partial HMDA exemptions created by the 
EGRRCPA. In August 2019, the Bureau reopened until mid-October the 
comment period for certain aspects of the NPRM. The Bureau determined 
that it would issue two final rules at different times to address 
different aspects of the proposed rule. The Bureau issued the first of 
these final rules in October 2019. It finalized the proposed 2-year 
extension of the 500-loan temporary threshold for collecting and 
reporting data on open-end lines of credit and incorporated into 
Regulation C the EGRRCPA partial exemption provisions. The Bureau plans 
to issue a second final rule in April 2020 that would address the 
proposed changes to the permanent thresholds for collecting and 
reporting data on open-end lines of credit and closed-end mortgage 
loans.
    Likewise, to consider concerns about possible unwarranted 
regulatory burden, the Bureau also issued an ANPRM in May 2019 
concerning certain data points that are reported under the 2015 HMDA 
rule and coverage of certain business or commercial purpose loans. In 
June 2019, the Bureau extended the comment period on the ANPRM to mid-
October 2019. The Bureau expects to issue an NPRM in late summer 2020 
to follow up on the ANPRM. The Bureau also expects to issue an NPRM in 
late summer 2020 addressing the public disclosure of HMDA data in light 
of consumer privacy interests, so that stakeholders can concurrently 
consider and comment on the collection and reporting of data points and 
public disclosure of those data points. This NPRM will follow up on the 
Bureau's 2018 final policy guidance regarding disclosure of the HMDA 
data. Until the Bureau promulgates a final rule, it anticipates that it 
will continue to disclose HMDA data in the manner detailed in the final 
policy guidance.
    In April 2020, the Bureau plans to complete an action begun in 
February 2019 to revoke the mandatory underwriting requirements of the 
regulations promulgated in a 2017 rule titled Payday, Vehicle Title, 
and Certain High-Cost Installment Loans. As amended, the regulations 
will no longer: (1) Identify as an unfair and abusive practice a lender 
making a covered short-term or longer-term balloon-payment loan, 
including payday and vehicle title loans, without reasonably 
determining that consumers have the ability to repay those loans 
according to their terms; (2) prescribe mandatory underwriting 
requirements for making the ability-to-repay determination, or exempt 
certain loans from the mandatory underwriting requirements; and (3) 
include definitions or impose reporting and recordkeeping requirements 
relating to the mandatory underwriting requirements. In response to 
stakeholder input, the Bureau is now evaluating what, if any, other 
actions to take with respect to the application of the payments 
provisions of the 2017 Rule to the short-term, longer-term balloon-
payment, and certain high cost installment loans covered by those 
provisions. These actions could include, but are not limited to, 
updated compliance aids, policy statements, or other guidance.
    The Bureau also issued an NPRM in May 2019 that would prescribe 
rules under Regulation F to govern the activities of debt collectors, 
as that term is defined under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. 
The Bureau's proposal would, among other things, address communications 
in connection with debt collection; interpret and apply prohibitions on 
harassment or abuse, false or misleading representations, and unfair 
practices in debt collection; and clarify requirements for certain 
consumer-facing debt collection disclosures. The proposal builds on the 
Bureau's research and pre-rulemaking activities regarding the debt 
collection market; the conduct of debt collectors remains a top source 
of complaints to the Bureau. The Bureau expects to take final action in 
October 2020 with regard to the May 2019 NPRM. The Bureau has also 
engaged in testing of time-barred debt disclosures that were not the 
focus of the May 2019 proposal. In early 2020, after completing the 
testing, the Bureau published a supplemental NPRM related to time-
barred debt disclosures.
    The Bureau also is continuing work related to a rulemaking to amend 
the Bureau's Remittance Rule. Section 1073 of the Dodd-Frank Act 
contains a temporary exception to its requirement that remittance 
transfer providers disclose actual amounts for remittance transfers. 
The exception permits insured depository institutions and insured 
credit unions in certain circumstances to estimate certain required 
disclosures. As mandated by statute, this exception will expire on July 
21, 2020. After completing an assessment in October 2018 of the 
Remittance Rule and issuing in April 2019 a Request for Information to 
gather information related to the expiration of the temporary exception 
and information related to the scope of the Remittance Rule's coverage, 
the Bureau issued an NPRM in December 2019. In the NPRM, the Bureau 
proposed to increase a safe harbor threshold under which a person is 
deemed not to be providing remittance transfers in the normal course of 
business, from 100 per year to 500 per year. The Bureau also proposed 
changes to mitigate the effects of the expiration of the statutory 
temporary exemption. The proposed changes would allow insured 
institutions to continue to estimate the exchange rate and covered-
third party fees under certain circumstances. Finally, the Bureau 
solicited comment on a permanent exception permitting remittance 
transfer providers to use estimates for transfers to certain countries 
and the process for

[[Page 52812]]

adding countries to the safe harbor countries list maintained by the 
Bureau. The Bureau expects to issue a final rule in May 2020.
    In July 2019, the Bureau issued an ANPRM to solicit information 
about possible amendments to the qualified mortgage provisions of 
Regulation Z. With certain exceptions, Regulation Z requires creditors 
to make a reasonable, good faith determination of a consumer's ability 
to repay any residential mortgage loan, and loans that meet Regulation 
Z's requirements for ``qualified mortgages'' obtain certain protections 
from liability. One category of qualified mortgages (QMs) covers 
certain loans that are eligible for purchase or guarantee by either the 
Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) or the Federal Home 
Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac). Under Regulation Z, this 
category of QMs (Temporary GSE QM or ``Patch'' loans) is scheduled to 
expire no later than January 10, 2021. The Bureau is planning to 
propose in May 2020 amendments to the definition of General QM that 
would move away from the 43 percent Debt-to-Income (DTI) requirement 
and would instead establish an alternative, such as a pricing threshold 
(i.e., the difference between the loan's annual percentage rate (APR) 
and the average prime offer rate (APOR) for a comparable transaction) 
for loans to qualify as QMs. General QM loans would still have to meet 
the statutory criteria for QM status, including restrictions related to 
loan features, up-front costs, and underwriting. The Bureau also 
expects that in May 2020 it will propose to extend the Patch for a 
short period until the effective date of the proposed alternative or 
until one or more of the GSEs exits conservatorship, whichever comes 
first. This would help ensure a smooth and orderly transition away from 
the Patch by (among other things) allowing the Bureau to complete this 
rulemaking and to avoid any gap between the expiration of the Patch and 
the effective date of the proposed alternative. Finally, the Bureau is 
considering adding a new ``seasoning'' definition of QM which would be 
issued through a separate NPRM. This definition would create an 
alternative pathway to QM safe-harbor status for certain mortgages when 
the borrower has consistently made timely payments for a period.
    The Bureau is participating in interagency rulemaking processes 
with the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Office 
of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Federal Deposit Insurance 
Corporation, the National Credit Union Administration, and the Federal 
Housing Finance Agency to develop regulations to implement the 
amendments made by the Dodd-Frank Act to the Financial Institutions 
Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act of 1989 (FIRREA) concerning 
appraisals. The FIRREA amendments require implementing regulations for 
quality control standards for automated valuation models (AVMs). These 
standards are designed to ensure a high level of confidence in the 
estimates produced by the valuation models, protect against the 
manipulation of data, seek to avoid conflicts of interest, require 
random sample testing and reviews, and account for any other such 
factor that the Agencies determine to be appropriate. The Agencies will 
continue to work to develop a proposed rule to implement the Dodd-Frank 
Act's AVM amendments to FIRREA.

2. New Projects and Planning for Future Rulemakings

    The Bureau is commencing a new rulemaking to address the 
anticipated expiration of the LIBOR index, which the UK Financial 
Conduct Authority has stated that it cannot guarantee the publication 
of beyond the end of 2021. The Bureau's work is designed to facilitate 
compliance by open-end and closed-end creditors and to lessen the 
financial impact to consumers by providing examples of replacement 
indices that meet Regulation Z requirements. For creditors for HELOCs 
(including reverse mortgages) and card issuers for credit card 
accounts, the rule would facilitate the transition of existing accounts 
to an alternative index, beginning around December 2020, well in 
advance of LIBOR's anticipated expiration. The rule also would address 
change-in-terms notice provisions for HELOCs and credit card accounts 
and how they apply to the transition away from LIBOR, to ensure that 
consumers are informed of the replacement index and any adjusted 
margin. To facilitate compliance by card issuers, the rule would 
address how the rate re-evaluation provisions applicable to credit card 
accounts apply to the transition from LIBOR to a replacement index. 
Commencing a notice-and-comment rulemaking will enable the Bureau to 
facilitate compliance by creditors with Regulation Z as they transition 
away from LIBOR. The Bureau expects to issue an NPRM in May 2020.
    Congress tasked the Bureau with ensuring that markets for consumer 
financial products and services operate transparently and efficiently 
to facilitate access and innovation. One area of innovation we are 
monitoring is use of artificial intelligence (AI), including a subset 
of AI, machine learning (ML). Issues concerning use of AI and how it 
may apply in the context of the Federal consumer financial laws and 
regulations were raised in response to the Bureau's 2017 Request for 
Information Regarding Use of Alternative Data and Modeling Techniques 
in the Credit Process, the Bureau's 2018 Calls for Evidence, and in 
other outreach since then. As the Bureau continues to monitor 
developments concerning AI, the Bureau will evaluate whether 
rulemaking, a policy statement, or other Bureau action may be 
appropriate.
    The Bureau is also actively reviewing existing regulations. Section 
1022(d) of the Dodd-Frank Act requires the Bureau to conduct an 
assessment of each significant rule or order adopted by the Bureau 
under Federal consumer financial law and publish a report of each 
assessment not later than 5 years after the effective date of the 
subject matter or order. The Bureau is conducting an assessment of its 
Integrated Mortgage Disclosures Under the Real Estate Settlement 
Procedures Act (Regulation X) and the Truth in Lending Act (Regulation 
Z) Rule and certain amendments.
    The Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) also requires the Bureau to 
consider the effect on small entities of certain rules it promulgates. 
The Bureau published in May 2019 its plan for conducting reviews, 
consistent with section 610 of the RFA, of certain regulations which 
are believed to have a significant impact on a substantial number of 
small entities. Congress specified that the purpose of such reviews 
shall be to determine whether such rules should be continued without 
change, or should be amended or rescinded, consistent with the stated 
objectives of the applicable statutes, to minimize any significant 
economic impact of the rules upon a substantial number of such small 
entities.
    The Bureau has conducted its first 610 RFA review, concerning the 
impact on small banks and credit unions of a 2009 Regulation E 
amendment governing overdraft services. After considering the statutory 
review factors, including a review of public comment, the Bureau has 
determined that the rule should continue without change at this time. 
The Bureau believes that there is a continued need for this rule, which 
does not overlap with other Federal or State rules and which likely 
preserves a valuable consumer choice. The overdraft rule is not 
complex, and no aspect of the rule was identified as

[[Page 52813]]

presenting a unique burden or cost to small entities. Commenters also 
overwhelmingly supported continuing the 2009 rule without change. The 
Bureau expects to conduct additional reviews pursuant to section 610 of 
the RFA, including, commencing in 2020, a review of the Regulation Z 
rules that implement the Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and 
Disclosure Act of 2009.
    Finally, as required by the Dodd-Frank Act, the Bureau is also 
continuing to monitor markets for consumer financial products and 
services to identify risks to consumers and the proper functioning of 
such markets. As discussed in a recent report by the Government 
Accountability Office, the Bureau's Division of Research, Markets, and 
Regulations and specifically its Markets Offices continuously monitor 
market developments and risks to consumers. The Bureau also has created 
a number of cross-Bureau working groups focused around specific markets 
which advance the Bureau's market monitoring work. The Bureau's market 
monitoring work assists in identifying issues for potential future 
rulemaking work.

    Dated: March 5, 2020.
Susan M. Bernard,
Assistant Director for Regulations, Bureau of Consumer Financial 
Protection.

           Consumer Financial Protection Bureau--Prerule Stage
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                                                           Regulation
       Sequence No.                    Title             Identifier No.
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281.......................  Business Lending Data              3170-AA09
                             (Regulation B).
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        Consumer Financial Protection Bureau--Proposed Rule Stage
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                                                           Regulation
       Sequence No.                    Title             Identifier No.
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282.......................  Debt Collection Rule......         3170-AA41
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CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION BUREAU (CFPB)

Prerule Stage

281. Business Lending Data (Regulation B)

    E.O. 13771 Designation: Independent agency.
    Legal Authority: 15 U.S.C. 1691c-2
    Abstract: Section 1071 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and 
Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank Act) amended the Equal Credit 
Opportunity Act (ECOA) to require, subject to rules prescribed by the 
Bureau, financial institutions to report information concerning credit 
applications made by women-owned, minority-owned, and small businesses. 
The amendments to ECOA made by the Dodd-Frank Act require that certain 
data be collected, maintained, and reported, including the number of 
the application and date the application was received; the type and 
purpose of the loan or credit applied for; the amount of credit applied 
for and approved; the type of action taken with regard to each 
application and the date of such action; the census tract of the 
principal place of business; the gross annual revenue of the business; 
and the race, sex, and ethnicity of the principal owners of the 
business. The Dodd-Frank Act also provides authority for the Bureau to 
require any additional data that the Bureau determines would aid in 
fulfilling the purposes of this section. The Bureau may adopt 
exceptions to any requirement of section 1071 and may exempt any 
financial institution from its requirements, as the Bureau deems 
necessary or appropriate to carry out section 1071's purposes. The 
Bureau issued a Request for Information in 2017 seeking public comment 
on, among other things, the types of credit products offered and the 
types of data currently collected by lenders in this market, and the 
potential complexity, cost of, and privacy issues related to, small 
business data collection. In November 2019, the Bureau hosted a 
symposium on small business data collection to facilitate its decision-
making. The symposium explored how to efficiently collect appropriate 
data without imposing unnecessary or undue costs that could limit 
access to credit from existing market participants or discourage new 
entrants into the market for small business credit. The information 
received in response to the Request for Information and the symposium 
will help the Bureau as it determines how to implement the statute 
efficiently while minimizing burdens on lenders. In addition, the 
Bureau is working to conduct a survey of lenders to obtain estimates of 
one-time costs lenders of varying sizes would incur to collect and 
report data pursuant to section 1071. The Bureau's next step will be 
the release of materials in advance of convening a panel under the 
Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act (SBREFA), in 
conjunction with the Office of Management and Budget and the Small 
Business Administration's Chief Counsel for Advocacy. Through this 
SBREFA process, the Bureau will hear from representatives of small 
businesses on which Bureau rules to implement section 1071 may impose 
costs.
    Timetable:

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               Action                    Date            FR Cite
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Request for Information.............   05/15/17  82 FR 22318
Request for Information Comment        09/14/17
 Period End.
Pre-rule Activity--SBREFA Outline...   09/00/20
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    Regulatory Flexibility Analysis Required: Yes.
    Agency Contact: Kristine Andreassen, Office of Regulations, 
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Washington, DC 20552, Phone: 202 
435-7700.
    RIN: 3170-AA09

CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION BUREAU (CFPB)

Proposed Rule Stage

282. Debt Collection Rule

    E.O. 13771 Designation: Independent agency.
    Legal Authority: 15 U.S.C. 1692l(d)
    Abstract: In May 2019, the Bureau issued a Notice of Proposed 
Rulemaking (NPRM), which would prescribe rules under Regulation F to 
govern the activities of debt collectors, as that term

[[Page 52814]]

is defined under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). The 
Bureau's proposal would, among other things, address communications in 
connection with debt collection; interpret and apply prohibitions on 
harassment or abuse, false or misleading representations, and unfair 
practices in debt collection; and clarify requirements for certain 
consumer-facing debt collection disclosures. The proposal builds on the 
Bureau's research and pre-rulemaking activities regarding the debt 
collection market; the conduct of debt collectors remains a top source 
of complaints to the Bureau. The Bureau expects to take final action in 
October 2020 with regard to the May 2019 NPRM. The Bureau has also 
engaged in testing of time-barred debt disclosures that were not 
addressed in the May 2019 proposal. In February 2020, after completing 
the testing, the Bureau issued a supplemental NPRM related to time-
barred debt disclosures.
    Timetable:

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               Action                    Date            FR Cite
------------------------------------------------------------------------
ANPRM...............................   11/12/13  78 FR 67847
ANPRM Comment Period Extended.......   01/14/14  79 FR 2384
ANPRM Comment Period End............   02/10/14
ANPRM Comment Period Extended End...   02/28/14
Pre-Rule Activity--SBREFA Outline...   07/28/16
NPRM................................   05/21/19  84 FR 23274
NPRM Comment Period Extended........   08/02/19  84 FR 37806
NPRM Comment Period End.............   08/19/19
NPRM Comment Period Extended End....   09/18/19
Supplemental NPRM...................   03/03/20  85 FR 12672
Supplemental NPRM Comment Period       03/27/20  85 FR 17299
 Extended.
Supplemental NPRM Comment Period       06/05/20
 Extended End.
Final Rule..........................   10/00/20
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Regulatory Flexibility Analysis Required: Yes.
    Agency Contact: Kristin McPartland, Office of Regulations, Consumer 
Financial Protection Bureau, Washington, DC 20552, Phone: 202 435-7700.
    RIN: 3170-AA41

[FR Doc. 2020-16749 Filed 8-25-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4810-AM-P