WWRD? What will Rohit do? That is the question on everyone’s mind as Rohit Chopra appears to be inching closer and closer to the Director’s office at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. For the accounts receivable management industry, the burning question is would he dare to anything to Regulation F, which is scheduled to go into effect on November 30, in just 74 short days? One published media report hypothesized that changes to the debt collection rule are expected by “many” if and when Chopra is confirmed by the Senate and takes over at the Bureau.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Coming November 29 at 11:30pm ET is a special industry Happy Hour to usher in a new era of debt collection. Want an invitation? Email me today!
To be fair, the report in question looks at the priorities that are awaiting Chopra, once he moves from his role as a commissioner at the Federal Trade Commission to the CFPB. Other priorities could include addressing the payday lending rule, initiating coverage of large market fintech lenders, and “proposing changes to the debt collection rule.”
Others, including former CFPB Deputy Director Tom Pahl, have predicted that the CFPB will leave Regulation F in tact, but issue another rule that will propose changes to Regulation F. Exactly what will happen is anyone’s guess, but it does appear that even though the enactment date for Reg F is ticking closer and closer, that may not preclude a Chopra-led Bureau from putting its stamp on the rule in some way, shape, or form.
Whether changes to Regulation F actually come to pass, many of the people who are tuned into what’s going on at the CFPB expect a regulator that will be active, issuing enforcement actions and rulemaking activity.
Chopra’s move to the CFPB appeared to inch closer this week when President Biden nominated Alvaro Bedoya to be a commissioner at the FTC. The confirmation of Bedoya could occur at the same time as Chopra’s confirmation to be the CFPB’s director.
