Current Regulatory Issues - September 2018 September 19, 2018 The Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (“BCFP” or “CFPB”) continues to work through feedback it requested on a long list of procedures (enforcement, process, etc.). We have been pleased that the agency has been much more cooperative under new leadership in terms of working toward more clarity in regulations, less mystery in enforcement and more empathy about unnecessary cost in its rules. The nomination process for a permanent director is moving forward in a crawl, likely on purpose, but we expect the director nominee will be confirmed eventually. It’s a little odd to have leadership in the bureau that may not even think the organization is structured constitutionally. At some point, Congress may be called upon to settle the issue with legislation. Some states have decided the “sheriff has left town,” so we’re seeing some states making moves that indicate they feel they need to step up and fill a regulatory void. The PHH case helped reestablish our previous/long-held understanding of how to comply with RESPA, which is positive, but we’re hearing some affiliated businesses (your competitors, not you) have it in their head that things are legal now that weren’t before. They’re not.