Special Alert: New CFPB Acting Director; Additional Pauses on CFPB Activities

February 2025

Reports indicate that the newly appointed OMB head will be Acting Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB - replacing the Treasury Secretary who was previously named Acting Director) and has swiftly issued multiple directives to CFPB staff including immediate:

• Ceasing of all supervision and examination activity.
• Ceasing of all stakeholder engagement.
• No issuing any public communications.

Directives also reiterate prior issuances (in keeping with the “Regulatory Freeze Pending Review” Executive Order) in:

• Ceasing of all rulemaking- and guidance-related activities.
• Suspension of enactment dates of all final rules issued or published that are not yet effective.
• Pausing of all pending investigations and enforcement activity.

The directives provide that exceptions may be available if approved by the Acting Director or if an activity is required by law.

Additionally, the Acting Director notified the Federal Reserve Board that the CFPB would not be requesting additional funding for the Third Quarter of FY2025 (see here).

Note: It is noteworthy that:

• The CFPB’s enumerated consumer financial protection rules remain in place and compliance with those rules is required until they are revised or rescinded through the notice and comment process.
• The Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA) permits individual state attorneys general to enforce the federal consumer financial protection laws independently of the CFPB.
• Changes to the CFPB and the CFPA require Congressional action.
• The CFPB continues to have responsibility to submit semi-annual reports to Congress on its operations and actions taken to protect consumers.
• The CFPB has designated bank and nonbank supervisory authority (see here).