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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 6 (Friday, January 10, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 1970-1974]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2025-00378]

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CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION BUREAU

Policy Statement on No-Action Letters

AGENCY: Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

ACTION: Policy statement.

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SUMMARY: The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is issuing 
this policy statement on No-Action Letters (Policy), which is intended 
to further objectives under section 1021 of the Consumer Financial 
Protection Act.

DATES: This policy statement is applicable on January 10, 2025.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: George Karithanom, Regulatory 
Implementation & Guidance Program Analyst, Office of Regulations, at 
202-435-7700 or at: https://reginquiries.consumerfinance.gov/. If you 
require this document in an alternative electronic format, please 
contact [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Overview

    The CFPB is accepting applications for No-Action Letters 
(``NALs''), as set forth in the policy statement below and subject to 
Conditions to Promote Innovation, Competition, Ethics and Transparency 
(``the Conditions''). The Conditions would be incorporated into 
individual NALs and serve several purposes.
    To summarize the Conditions, they are first designed to ensure that 
NALs promote innovations that solve unmet needs in markets for consumer 
financial products and services. Minor adjustments to existing 
products, or products that are designed to take advantage of gaps in 
laws rather than bringing new offerings to market, do not confer 
significant enough benefit on consumers to warrant the expenditure of 
government resources necessary to issue and monitor a NAL. Granting 
Letters in such circumstances misallocates government resources towards 
advantaging slight variations of what is essentially the same product 
that is currently available in the market. The Conditions therefore aim 
to enable innovations that solve real problems

[[Page 1971]]

that consumers face in financial markets.
    Second, the Conditions ensure that NALs do not compromise the 
competitive process. Innovation is maximized by competitive, open 
markets and robust rivalry among firms. In seeking to promote 
innovation, the NAL program must not tilt the competitive playing field 
by picking winners and losers in markets, or appearing to do so. For 
this reason, the CFPB will affirmatively reach out to program 
applicants' competitors and invite them to apply for the same NAL 
topic. The CFPB will not approve a NAL on a topic for a single firm, to 
avoid granting a first-mover advantage in the market. The Conditions 
also prevent firms from advertising the receipt of a NAL, which can 
create the false appearance of endorsement or favored regulatory status 
and can distort competition.
    Third, the Conditions promote transparency and rigorous ethical 
standards. The CFPB will post applications for NALs to an open docket 
on the regulations.gov website and will accept comment for 60 days. To 
avoid ethical conflicts, the CFPB will not consider applications from 
former CFPB attorneys representing firms as outside counsel. The CFPB 
is concerned that former CFPB employees will use their relationships to 
obtain special treatment for specific firms in procuring NALs, or that 
there is a risk of the appearance of special treatment by the public or 
specific firms seeking outside counsel. Because applicants' integrity 
is also critical for the programs' success, NALs will not be granted to 
firms that have been prosecuted for prior violations of federal 
consumer financial law in the last five years. And to prevent bait-and-
switch negotiation tactics experience under the prior NAL policy, where 
firms negotiated terms of NALs with the CFPB and thereafter materially 
change the underlying products or services, NALs will automatically be 
rescinded when recipients change their product or service so that it no 
longer fits the description provided in the application and described 
in the NAL, unless the NAL recipient applies for and receives an 
amended NAL. These safeguards ensure that the programs are facilitating 
stakeholder participation, government accountability, and integrity on 
the part of NAL applicants.\1\
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    \1\ See, e.g., Letter to Dave Girouard, CEO, Upstart Network, 
Inc. (Feb. 13, 2023) (expressing ``concern about a recent report 
that found lenders' use of educational data to make credit 
determinations could have a disparate impact on borrowers of 
color''), https://www.brown.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/2020-02-13%20Senate%20letter%20to%20Upstart.pdf; Fair Lending Monitorship of 
Upstart Network's Lending Model (Mar. 27, 2023) (identifying 
``approval disparities for Black applicants''), https://www.relmanlaw.com/assets/htmldocuments/Upstart%20Final%20Report.pdf.
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II. Background

    On September 10, 2019, the CFPB issued the ``Policy on No-Action 
Letters.'' \2\ The Policy on No-Action Letters set forth how companies 
should submit No-Action Letter applications and how the CFPB would 
assess and issue No-Action Letters. Under the policy, the CFPB would 
grant No-Action Letters to individual companies, advising recipients 
that the agency would not make supervisory findings or bring a 
supervisory or enforcement action against the company with respect to 
certain matters.
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    \2\ 84 FR 48229 (Sept. 13, 2019).
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    After conducting a review in 2022, the CFPB determined that the 
Policies failed to advance their stated objective of facilitating 
consumer-beneficial innovation.\3\ The CFPB also determined that the 
existing Policies failed to meet appropriate standards for transparency 
and stakeholder participation. The CFPB rescinded the policies and the 
CFPB continued to develop new protocols to ensure that such tools were 
consistent with the objectives of the Consumer Financial Protection Act 
and did not raise ethical concerns.
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    \3\ Statement on Competition and Innovation, 87 FR 58439 (Sept. 
27, 2022).
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    As noted above, the CFPB experienced a number of potential abuses 
and challenges with the NAL policy that led to the decision to allow 
the prior policy to expire. For example, the CFPB granted Upstart 
Network a NAL in 2017,\4\ committing to not enforce the Equal Credit 
Opportunity Act (ECOA) against the company for their use of 
``artificial intelligence'' in credit underwriting on behalf of bank 
partners. Despite the fact that other companies had similar models, 
Upstart became a leader in this market after receiving the NAL, and 
outside observers appear to have interpreted the NAL as an endorsement 
that Upstart's model did not violate the ECOA.\5\ The CFPB extended 
that NAL in November 2020.\6\ Immediately after the extension, Upstart 
closed its initial public offering and began trading its stock on the 
Nasdaq Global Select Market on December 16, 2020,\7\ with an initial 
market capitalization of $1.88 billion.\8\ In 2021, Upstart originated 
1.3 million loans, totaling $11.8 billion, on behalf of bank partners.
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    \4\ Id.
    \5\ MARCO DI MAGGIO, DIMUTHU RATNADIWAKARA, & DON CARMICHAEL, 
INVISIBLE PRIMES: FINTECH LENDING WITH ALTERNATIVE DATA, 3 (HARVARD 
BUSINESS SCHOOL, 2021), https://www.hbs.edu/ris/Publication%20Files/22-024_80dc9115-69cc-4564-99c6-3a937f275d31.pdf.
    \6\ https://www.consumerfinance.gov/rules-policy/competition-innovation/granted-applications/.
    \7\ https://ir.upstart.com/news-releases/news-release-details/upstart-announces-closing-initial-public-offering-and-full.
    \8\ https://www.reuters.com/technology/lending-platform-upstarts-shares-jump-nasdaq-debut-2020-12-16/.
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    Around the same time as the IPO, several nonprofit organizations 
raised concerns about Upstart's use of educational criteria (e.g. 
educational history, which university the applicant attended) in its 
lending model. Upstart agreed to appoint an independent monitor to 
determine whether Upstart's model complied with the ECOA.\9\ 
Ultimately, the independent monitor ended the relationship after coming 
to an impasse with Upstart about how to assess compliance with 
ECOA.\10\ Notably, the monitor detected that the model caused `` 
`statistically and practically significant' adverse approval/denial 
disparities for Black applicants.'' \11\
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    \9\ Relman Colfax PLLC, Fair Lending Monitorship of Upstart 
Network's Lending Model: Initial Report of the Independent Monitor, 
April 14, 2021, https://www.relmanlaw.com/media/cases/1088_Upstart%20Initial%20Report%20-%20Final.pdf.
    \10\ Relman Colfax PLLC, Fair Lending Monitorship of Upstart 
Network's Lending Model: Fourth and Final Report of the Independent 
Monitor, March 27, 2024, available at https://www.relmanlaw.com/assets/htmldocuments/Upstart%20Final%20Report.pdf.
    \11\ Id.
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    When Upstart wanted to substantially change its model, under the 
terms of the NAL, Upstart was supposed to apply for a modification of 
the NAL. Upstart applied for a modification, but the CFPB did not have 
enough time to review the implications of the significant changes. 
Upstart thus requested a termination of the NAL in order to be able to 
make the changes more quickly. The request was granted.\12\
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    \12\ In re November 30, 2020 No-Action Letter, Order to 
Terminate No-Action Letter (June 8, 2022), available at https://files.consumerfinance.gov/f/documents/cfpb_upstart-no-action-letter-termination_order_2022-06.pdf.
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    The CFPB experienced similar challenges with its Sandbox Approval 
policy, which is being reissued simultaneously with this NAL policy. 
For example, the CFPB issued a Sandbox Approval Order for Payactiv, 
Inc., a paycheck advance lender. It did not grant an Approval to any 
other paycheck advance lender. The CFPB discovered evidence suggesting 
that Payactiv was using the approval in marketing materials to 
misrepresent that the CFPB endorsed Payactiv's product. On June 3, 
2022, the CFPB informed Payactiv that, for this reason, it was

[[Page 1972]]

considering terminating the approval order.\13\ Payactiv requested 
termination of the order, and the CFPB approved that termination 
request.\14\
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    \13\ In re December 30, 2020 Sandbox Approval Order, Order to 
Terminate Sandbox Approval Order (June 30, 2022), available at 
https://www.consumerfinance.gov/about-us/newsroom/cfpb-rescinds-special-regulatory-treatment-for-payactiv/.
    \14\ Id.
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    To correct these shortcomings, the CFPB developed the Conditions to 
Promote Innovation, Competition, Ethics and Transparency that must be 
met for a Letter or Approval to be issued. They are incorporated in 
part A of the Policy on No-Action Letters that follows.

III. Regulatory Requirements

    This Policy on No-Action Letters constitutes an agency general 
statement of policy and/or a rule of agency organization, procedure, or 
practice exempt from the notice and comment rulemaking requirements 
under the Administrative Procedure Act, pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(b). 
Because no notice of proposed rulemaking is required, the Regulatory 
Flexibility Act does not require an initial or final regulatory 
flexibility analysis.\15\ The CFPB has also determined that the 
issuance of the Bulletin does not impose any new or revise any existing 
recordkeeping, reporting, or disclosure requirements on covered 
entities or members of the public that would be collections of 
information requiring approval by the Office of Management and Budget 
under the Paperwork Reduction Act.
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    \15\ 5 U.S.C. 603(a), 604(a).
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IV. Policy Statement

    The text of the Policy is as follows:

Policy on No-Action Letters

    In section 1021(a) of the Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA), 
Congress established the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's 
(CFPB's) statutory purpose as ensuring that all consumers have access 
to markets for consumer financial products and services and that 
markets for consumer financial products and services are fair, 
transparent, and competitive.\16\ Relatedly, the CFPB's objectives 
include exercising its authorities under Federal consumer financial law 
for the purposes of ensuring that markets for consumer financial 
products and services operate transparently and facilitate 
innovation.\17\
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    \16\ 12 U.S.C. 5511(a).
    \17\ 12 U.S.C. 5511(b)(3), (5).
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    Congress has given the CFPB a variety of authorities under the CFPA 
and the enumerated consumer laws \18\ that it can exercise to promote 
this purpose and these objectives. These authorities include 
supervision and enforcement authority, and the authority to issue 
orders and guidance.\19\ These authorities provide the basis for the 
Policy on No-Action Letters (Policy) and the No-Action Letters issued 
pursuant to the Policy.
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    \18\ 12 U.S.C. 5481(12).
    \19\ See 12 U.S.C. 5561 et seq. (enforcement authority); 12 
U.S.C. 5531(a) (Unfair, Deceptive, or Abusive Acts or Practices 
(UDAAP) enforcement authority); 12 U.S.C. 5514, 5515 (supervision 
authority); 12 U.S.C. 5511(a) (``The Bureau shall seek to implement 
and, where applicable, enforce Federal consumer financial law . . 
.'') (emphasis added); 12 U.S.C. 5512(b)(1).
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    The primary purposes of the Policy are to provide a mechanism 
through which the CFPB may more effectively carry out its statutory 
purpose and objectives and to facilitate compliance with applicable 
Federal consumer financial laws.
    The Policy is not intended to, nor should it be construed to:
    a. restrict or limit in any way the CFPB's discretion in exercising 
its authorities, including the provision of no-action or similar 
compliance assistance other than pursuant to the Policy;
    b. constitute an interpretation of law; or
    c. create or confer upon any covered person, consumer, or other 
external party any substantive or procedural rights, obligations, or 
defenses that are enforceable in any manner.
    In contrast, a particular No-Action Letter involves the CFPB's 
exercise of its supervision and enforcement discretion in a particular 
manner. It cannot bind, and never could bind, state plaintiffs or 
plaintiffs in private actions, including but not limited to states 
prosecuting violations of federal consumer financial law under Section 
1042 of the CFPA.
    The Policy consists of seven sections:
     Section A describes the Conditions to Promote Innovation, 
Competition, Ethics and Transparency.
     Section B describes the factors the CFPB intends to 
consider in assessing applications for a No-Action Letter.
     Section C describes the standard procedures the CFPB 
intends to use in issuing No-Action Letters.
     Section D describes the procedures the CFPB intends to use 
for modification and termination of No-Action Letters.
     Section E describes how the CFPB intends to coordinate 
with other regulators with respect to No-Action Letters.
     Section F describes the CFPB's intentions relating to 
disclosure of information relating to No-Action Letters.

A. Conditions To Promote Innovation, Competition, Ethics, and 
Transparency

    The following conditions apply to the No-Action Letter program:
    1. Applicants for No-Action Letters must establish a market 
problem, in the form of an unmet consumer need, that the new financial 
product or service solves.
    a. Applicants must articulate the benefit to consumers that flows 
from the CFPB permitting the product or service to be sold at market 
without compliance with the law at issue.
    b. A claim that a No-Action Letter would increase access to the 
applicant's product or service is insufficient to establish a market 
problem. To satisfy this requirement, the applicant must prove that 
their product or service is meeting an untapped consumer need.
    2. The CFPB will not approve a No-Action Letter on a topic for a 
single firm.
    3. The CFPB will reach out to the applicant's competitors and 
invite them to apply for a No-Action Letter on the same topic, to 
ensure that the CFPB does not select a single firm that gains a first-
mover advantage in the market as a result.
    4. No-Action Letters will state that recipients may not market or 
promote the fact that their product or service received a Letter. Such 
marketing is inherently deceptive to consumers, creating the false 
impression that the CFPB endorses the product.
    5. The CFPB will post applications for a No-Action Letter to an 
open docket on the regulations.gov website and will accept comment for 
60 days. In so doing, the CFPB will adhere to the confidentiality 
protections set forth in section F, below.
    6. The CFPB will generally not consider applications from former 
CFPB attorneys representing companies as outside counsel, to avoid 
ethical conflict and to maintain the highest integrity in the No-Action 
Letter program.
    7. The CFPB will not consider applications from companies that have 
been the subject of an enforcement action involving violations of 
Federal consumer financial law in the last 5 years, or who are subject 
to a pending enforcement investigation by federal or state authorities.
    8. No-Action Letters will automatically be rescinded when 
recipients materially change their product or service so that it no 
longer fits the description provided in the application and described 
in the Letter, unless a modification is approved under Subpart D.
    9. Submitting No-Action Letter applications under false pretenses, 
or

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with misleading or incomplete information, may be a violation of law 
and may be referred for potential prosecution.\20\
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    \20\ 18 U.S.C. 1001.
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B. Assessment of Applications for No-Action Letters

    In deciding whether to grant an application for a No-Action Letter, 
the CFPB intends to balance a variety of factors, including an 
assessment of the quality and persuasiveness of the application; 
information about the applicant and the product or service in question 
derived through CFPB due diligence processes; the extent to which 
granting the application would be consistent with CFPB enforcement and 
supervision priorities; an assessment of litigation risk; and available 
CFPB resources.\21\
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    \21\ The decision whether to grant an application for a No-
Action Letter will be within the CFPB's sole discretion.
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C. Procedures for Issuing No-Action Letters

    When the CFPB decides to grant an application for a No-Action 
Letter, it provides the recipients with a No-Action Letter signed by 
the Director that sets forth the specific terms and conditions of the 
No-Action Letter provided.\22\ The CFPB expects a No-Action Letter 
will:
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    \22\ If the CFPB decides to deny an application, it intends to 
inform the applicant of its decision. The CFPB intends to respond to 
reasonable requests to reconsider its denial of an application 
within 30 days of such requests. Applicants may also withdraw, 
modify, and/or re-submit applications at any time before the 
application is granted.
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    1. Identify the recipient; \23\
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    \23\ For convenience, the term ``recipient'' is used in the 
Policy to refer both to an individual recipient and joint 
recipients.
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    2. Specify the subject matter scope of the letter, i.e., the 
described aspects of the product or service; \24\
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    \24\ For convenience, ``described aspects of the product or 
service'' is used in the Policy to capture the subject matter scope 
of a No-Action Letter, including both the particular aspects of the 
product or service in question, and the particular manner in which 
it is offered or provided.
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    3. State that the letter:
    a. is limited to the recipient's offering or providing the 
described aspects of the product or service, and does not apply to the 
recipient's offering or providing different aspects of the product or 
service;
    b. is based on the factual representations made by the recipient, 
which may be incorporated by reference;
    c. does not purport to express any legal conclusions regarding the 
meaning or application of the laws and/or regulations within the scope 
of the letter; and
    d. does not constitute the CFPB's endorsement of the product or 
service that is the subject of the letter, or any other product or 
service offered or provided by the recipient;
    e. expires in 2 years;
    4. Require the recipient to consent to the CFPB's supervisory 
examination authority, if the recipient is not already subject to this 
authority;
    5. Require the recipient to apprise the CFPB of (a) material 
changes to information included in the application and (b) material 
information indicating that the described aspects of the product or 
service are not performing as anticipated in the application; \25\ 
Pursuant to A.7, unless an applicant applies for an amendment pursuant 
to section D, No-Action Letters will automatically be rescinded when 
recipients change their product or service so that it no longer fits 
the description provided in the application and described in the 
Letter.
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    \25\ ``Not performing as anticipated'' includes the 
materialization of consumer risks identified in the application, and 
the materialization of other consumer risks not identified in the 
application.
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    6. Specify any other limitations or conditions, and be published on 
the CFPB's website; \26\
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    \26\ If an applicant objects to the disclosure of certain 
information and the CFPB insists that the information must be 
publicly disclosed if a No-Action Letter is issued, the applicant 
may withdraw the application and the CFPB intends to treat all 
information related to the application as confidential to the full 
extent permitted by law.
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    7. State that, unless or until the No-Action Letter expires or is 
terminated by the CFPB, the CFPB will not make supervisory findings or 
bring a supervisory or enforcement action against the recipient 
predicated on the recipient's offering or providing the described 
aspects of the product or service under the laws identified in the No-
Action Letter;
    8. State that, (i) the recipient may reasonably rely on any CFPB 
commitments made in the letter; (ii) the CFPB may terminate the letter 
if it determines that it is necessary or appropriate to do so to 
advance the primary purposes of the Policy, such as where the recipient 
fails to substantially comply in good faith with the terms and 
conditions of the letter; the described aspects of the product or 
service do not perform as anticipated in the application; \27\ or 
controlling law changes as a result of a statutory change or a court 
decision that clearly permits or clearly prohibits conduct covered by 
the letter; and (iii) upon termination, the CFPB will not bring an 
action to impose retroactive liability with respect to conduct covered 
by the letter, except where a failure to substantially comply in good 
faith with the terms and conditions of the letter caused consumer harm 
or where the CFPB's initial granting of the No-Action Letter failed to 
comply with the Administrative Procedure Act or other law.
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    \27\ Such ground includes the materialization of consumer risks 
identified in the application, and the materialization of other 
consumer risks not identified in the application.
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D. Procedures for Modification and Termination of No-Action Letters

1. Modification Procedures
    A recipient of a No-Action Letter may apply for a modification of 
the letter. The recipient may seek modification to address an 
anticipated or unanticipated change in circumstances, such as 
iterations of the underlying product or service or changes to the 
information included in the No-Action Letter application. Applications 
for a modification should include the following:
    a. Any material changes to the information included in the original 
application;
    b. The specific requested modification(s) to the No-Action Letter;
    c. The ground(s) for modifying the No-Action Letter; and
    d. Any other information the recipient wishes to provide in support 
of the modification application.
    In deciding whether to grant an application for modification of a 
No-Action Letter, the CFPB intends to balance a variety of factors, 
including the quality and persuasiveness of the application. The CFPB 
expects to grant or deny such applications within 30 days of notifying 
the applicant that the CFPB has deemed the application to be complete. 
When the CFPB grants an application for modification, it intends to 
provide the recipient with a modified No-Action Letter in accordance 
with the procedures specified in section C.
2. Termination Procedures
    The CFPB intends that the recipient of a No-Action Letter should be 
able to reasonably rely on any CFPB commitments made in the letter.
    Before terminating a No-Action Letter, the CFPB may, in the 
appropriate cases, notify the recipient of the possible grounds for 
termination and permit an opportunity to respond within a reasonable 
period of time. In its discretion, the CFPB may offer the recipient an 
opportunity to modify its conduct to avoid termination. The CFPB may 
allow the recipient to wind-down the offering or providing of the 
described aspects of the product or service during a period of six 
months

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before termination, unless the described aspects of the product or 
service are causing injury to consumers, and a wind-down period would 
permit such injury to continue. If the CFPB terminates a No-Action 
Letter, it will do so in writing and specify the reasons for its 
decision. The CFPB will publish termination decisions on its website.

E. Regulatory Coordination

    Section 1015 of the CFPA instructs the CFPB to coordinate with 
Federal agencies and State regulators, as appropriate, to promote 
consistent regulatory treatment of consumer financial and investment 
products and services.\28\ Similarly, section 1042(c) of the CFPA 
instructs the CFPB to provide guidance in order to further coordinate 
actions with the State attorneys general and other regulators.\29\ Such 
coordination includes coordinating in circumstances where other 
regulators have chosen to limit their enforcement or other regulatory 
authority. The CFPB is interested in entering into agreements with 
State authorities that issue similar forms of no-action compliance 
assistance that would provide for an alternative means of receiving a 
No-Action Letter from the CFPB, i.e., alternative to the process 
described in sections A through D.
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    \28\ 12 U.S.C. 5495.
    \29\ 12 U.S.C. 5552(c).
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    Furthermore, the CFPB is interested in coordinating with other 
regulators more generally. To this end, the CFPB intends to enter into 
agreements whenever practicable to coordinate No-Action Letters issued 
under the Policy with similar forms of compliance assistance offered by 
State, Federal, or international regulators.

F. CFPB Disclosure of Information Regarding No-Action Letters

    Public disclosure of information regarding No-Action Letters is 
governed by applicable law, including the CFPA,\30\ the Freedom of 
Information Act (FOIA),\31\ and the CFPB's Rule on Disclosure of 
Records and Information (Disclosure Rule).\32\ The Disclosure Rule 
generally prohibits the CFPB from disclosing confidential 
information,\33\ and defines confidential information to include 
information that may be exempt from disclosure under the FOIA \34\--
including FOIA Exemption 4 regarding trade secrets and confidential 
commercial or financial information that is privileged or 
confidential.\35\ Relatedly, the Disclosure Rule defines business 
information as commercial or financial information obtained by the CFPB 
from a submitter that may be protected from disclosure under FOIA 
Exemption 4, and generally provides that such business information 
shall not be disclosed pursuant to a FOIA request except in accordance 
with section 1070.20 of the rule.\36\
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    \30\ See, e.g., 12 U.S.C. 5512(c)(8).
    \31\ 5 U.S.C. 552.
    \32\ 12 CFR part 1070.
    \33\ 12 CFR 1070.41.
    \34\ 12 CFR 1070.2(f).
    \35\ 5 U.S.C. 552(b)(4).
    \36\ 12 CFR 1070.20(a), (b).
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    Consistent with applicable law, the CFPB will publish No-Action 
Letters on its website, as well as the application previously published 
on regulations.gov. The CFPB also may publish denials of applications 
on its website, including an explanation of why the application was 
denied, particularly if it determines that doing so would be in the 
public interest.\37\
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    \37\ The CFPB intends to publish denials only after the 
applicant is given an opportunity to request reconsideration of the 
denial. Upon request, and if disclosure is not required by 5 U.S.C. 
552(a)(2) or other applicable law, the CFPB does not intend to 
release identifying information from published denials, and to 
instead redact such information from denials published on its 
website.
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    Where information submitted to the CFPB is both customarily and 
actually treated as private by the submitter, the CFPB intends to treat 
it as confidential in accordance with the Disclosure Rule.\38\ The CFPB 
anticipates that much of the information submitted by applicants in 
their applications, and by recipients during the pendency of the No-
Action Letter, will qualify as confidential information under the 
Disclosure Rule.\39\
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    \38\ See Food Mktg. Inst. v. Argus Leader Media, 139 S. Ct. 2356 
(June 24, 2019).
    \39\ To the extent associated communications include the same 
information, that information would have the same status. But other 
information in associated communications may be subject to 
disclosure.
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    Disclosure of information or data provided to the CFPB under the 
Policy to other Federal and State agencies is governed by applicable 
law, including the CFPA \40\ and the Disclosure Rule.
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    \40\ See, e.g., 12 U.S.C. 5512(c)(8).
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    To the extent the CFPB wishes to publicly disclose non-confidential 
information regarding a No-Action Letter, the CFPB intends to include 
the terms of such disclosure in the letter. The CFPB intends to draft 
the No-Action Letter in a manner such that confidential information is 
not disclosed. Consistent with applicable law and its own rules, the 
CFPB does not intend to publicly disclose any information that would 
conflict with consumers' privacy interests.

Rohit Chopra,
Director, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
[FR Doc. 2025-00378 Filed 1-8-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4810-AM-P
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