In yet another example of state attorneys general stepping up their activities in response to a perceived regulatory rollback in Washington, 16 attorneys general[1], all Democrats, have written to the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (Bureau), formerly the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), proposing in quite strident terms that the Bureau not reduce its authority for or use of key enforcement tools such as the Civil Investigative Demand (CID). Read the letter here.
The letter makes the case that full CID authority permits agencies to fulfill their investigative mandate. While nominally responding to the Bureau’s request for information about its CID process, the letter serves the unmistakable purpose of making a joint public statement of the enforcement philosophy of these attorneys general. The letter thus bears a careful review as it likely presages investigative and enforcement litigation that they might undertake themselves. Each of these attorneys general has not only powerful consumer protection authorities under state law but also the express authorization under the Dodd-Frank Act to enforce that law’s prohibition on “unfair, deceptive, and abusive” acts and practices in federal court. In turn, as we have previously reported, the Bureau’s acting director, Mick Mulvaney, has made clear that he does not intend to interfere in the states’ regulatory and enforcement prerogatives. Read our prior blog here.
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