Maria Vullo, superintendent of the New York Department of Financial Services, issued some harsh comments on Thursday about the shifting policy direction of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
“Since its founding, the CFPB has been a strong and vital partner with the New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS) and state regulators nationwide on many important consumer protection issues,” Vullo said in a statement. “I am disappointed by the new administration’s sudden policy shift, which is clearly intended to undermine necessary national financial services regulation and enforcement. DFS remains committed to its mission to safeguard the financial services industry and protect New York consumers, and will continue to lead and take action to fill the increasing number of regulatory voids created by the federal government.”
Last week, Mick Mulvaney, the acting director of the CFPB, issued a memo to all agency staff, saying that the CFPB would no longer “push the envelope,” and that its days of regulation by enforcement were over. As well, the agency would begin using empirical data, such as its consumer complaint database, to determine its rulemaking priorities and agency going forward.
Calling the shift in policy, “troublesome,” Vullo’s statement echoed what many in the industry had been expecting from states in the wake of the leadership change at the CFPB. Many in the industry expect state regulators and attorneys general to be more active
