The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced this morning that all four of its advisory boards will hold open conference calls on May 1 with one item on the agenda — discussing the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on consumers.
The four boards — the Consumer Advisory Board, the Academic Research Council, the Community Bank Advisory Council, and the Credit Union Advisory Council — will each meet from 2pm ET to about 4:15pm ET. A specific agenda is due to be published on the CFPB’s website as early as today.
The notices about the simultaneous meetings were published today in the Federal Register. Here are links to each announcement:
- Consumer Advisory Board
- Credit Union Advisory Council
- Community Bank Advisory Council
- Academic Research Council
According to the CFPB’s website, the meetings will be the first time that the groups have engaged since last October.
The group that is most applicable to the credit and collection industry is the Consumer Advisory Board. It is currently made up of 12 individuals and includes a mix of consumer advocates, bank and lending executives, executives from non-profit organizations, and academics. None of the members of the CAB have any direct ties to the credit and collection industry.
The CFPB is required by law to maintain the groups, which are to meet regularly to discuss issues and trends to help inform the bureau on its consumer protection mandate. The boards are charged with “identifying and assessing the impact of emerging products, practices, or services on consumers and other market participants,” the Bureau said.
The CFPB has issued some statements and guidance about how companies in the financial services industry should be handling themselves and their interactions with consumers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Some state attorneys general have asked the Bureau to walk some of its guidance back
