A number of trade groups from across the financial services industry have submitted a request to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to delay the process for convening a meeting under the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act (SBREFA) as it ponders a proposal to remove medical debts from consumers’ credit reports. The groups argue the condensed timeframe put forth by the CFPB does not provide them with enough time to comprehensively review the proposals and develop their list of clarifying questions.
A copy of the letter, sent by ACA International, American Bankers Association, Consumer Data Industry Association, Credit Union National Association, Independent Community Bankers of America, National Association of FederallyInsured Credit Unions, and Professional Background Screening Association can be accessed by clicking here.
The CFPB announced on September 21 that it was launching the rulemaking process to address issues related to the Fair Credit Reporting Act. One of the issues was about including medical debts on credit reports. As part of the rulemaking process, the CFPB is required to conduct a hearing under SBREFA. The CFPB is one of three federal agencies required to conduct SBREFA hearings as part of the rulemaking process The hearing brings individuals who represent small entities together and allows them to share their insights and opinions about the proposals made by the CFPB and the impact that the proposals will have on their businesses. The small entity representatives, called SERs, are supposed to submit their reports to the SBREFA panel by October 4. The panel then has 60 days to submit a final report to the CFPB, at which point the CFPB can move forward with the rulemaking process.
The groups asked the CFPB to extend the deadline to submit qualifying questions to October 17 because the original deadline was “not nearly enough time for small business owners, who also continue to operate their business and financial institutions, to adequately prepare and offer alternatives and data as the CFPB requests.”
