Rep. Sen Duffy [R-Wisc.] has introduced a bill in The House of Representatives which would amend the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act to require the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection to provide guidance on the consumer financial laws under its purview.
A copy of the bill, H.R. 5534, the Give Useful Information to Define Effective Compliance Act, or GUIDE Act, can be accessed by clicking here. The bill was co-sponsored by Rep. Ed Perlmutter [D-Colo.].
The thrust of the bill is for the CFPB to provide legally binding guidance to companies instead of leaving them to interpret the intricacies of civil money penalties and enforcement orders.
If enacted, the CFPB would be required to issue a rule within one year, detailing how it would comply with the law. The bill would also require the CFPB to develop guidelines for determining the size of any civil money penalty.
From Ballard Spahr’s notification about the bill’s introduction:
While the Act would require that the framework for civil money penalties conform with the framework of the federal banking agencies, as noted above there are no parameters set forth for any guidance on consumer financial laws that is issued by the CFPB. To some this evokes the adage, be careful what you wish for, you may get.
The bill has been referred to the House Financial Services Committee. Rep. Duffy is the chairman of the Financial Services Committee’s Housing and Insurance Subcommittee. It should come as no surprise that the trade group representing mortgage bankers largely applauded
