ETA Spotlight Call: CFPB's Statement on UDAAP

Nancy Thomas and Richard Fischer are speaking at the ETA Spotlight Call on Unfair, Deceptive, or Abusive Acts or Practices (UDAAP). The event is focused on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and its Rescission of Statement of Policy rescinding its January 24, 2020 Policy Statement regarding the prohibition on abusive acts or practices (2020 Policy Statement). The CFPB indicates that it is rescinding the 2020 Policy Statement “to better protect consumers and the marketplace … and to enforce the law as Congress wrote it.” The CFPB's action signals a return to the “Know It When You See It” standard for UDAAP abusiveness, which will require regulated entities to “read the tea leaves” based on allegations in enforcement actions and statements in CFPB supervisory guidance and the CFPB examination manual.

Going forward, the CFPB intends to exercise its supervisory and enforcement authority consistent with the full scope of its statutory authority under the Dodd-Frank Act as established by Congress. The CFPB has made these changes to better protect consumers and the marketplace from abusive acts or practices, and to enforce the law as Congress wrote it.

This ETA Spotlight Call offers insight into how this change will likely affect businesses.