The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Friday announced a town hall meeting in Philadelphia on Wednesday, May 8, leading many in the industry to treat that date as the likely birth announcement for the agency’s proposed debt collection rule.
In announcing the town hall, all the CFPB said was that the meeting would feature remarks from agency Director Kathleen Kraninger, “as well as comments from community groups, industry representatives, and members of the public.” The CFPB did not say what industry from which the representatives would be speaking.
But speculation has been flying fast and furious over the weekend that this is when the CFPB will finally release its long-anticipated proposed debt collection rule. The CFPB first announced in November 2013 that it was working on a rule to update and modernize the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, and the industry has been on the edge of its seat ever since.
Earlier this month, Kraninger provided an overview of the areas that the proposed rule will address, including call caps, the use of text messaging and email in collections, and updated disclosure requirements.
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Following the release of the proposed rule will be a comment period, where anyone can submit their opinions or concerns about the proposal. Once the comment period closes, the CFPB is expected to review the comments before issuing a final rule.
