The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has withdrawn its request to conduct a survey of individuals related to debt collection disclosures.
The move appears to be part of Acting Director Mick Mulvaney’s decision last month to freeze all pending regulatory actions. The survey was considered to be the next step in developing a rule governing the debt collection process.
The CFPB did not give a reason why the request was withdrawn. What remains to be seen is whether the CFPB will move forward with a long-anticipated debt collection rule. The rule has been in the proposal and formative stages for more than two years and underwent a massive overhaul this past summer.
As recently as mid-November, the CFPB publicized its plans to go ahead with surveying 8,000 individuals related to disclosures that are made during the collections process. The intentions of the survey were to learn more about:
- Whether the collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the Bureau, including whether the information will have practical utility
- The accuracy of the Bureau’s estimate of the burden of the collection of information, including the validity of the methods and the assumptions used
- Ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected
- Ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on respondents, including through the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology
The American Bankers Association is taking some of the credit
