41318 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 144 / Friday, July 30, 2021 / UA: Reg Flex Agenda 

1The listing does not include certain routine, 

frequent, or administrative matters. The Bureau is 

reporting information for this Unified Agenda in a 

manner consistent with past practice. 

BUREAU OF CONSUMER FINANCIAL 

PROTECTION 

12 CFR Ch. X 

Semiannual Regulatory Agenda 

AGENCY: Bureau of Consumer Financial 

Protection 

ACTION: Semiannual regulatory agenda. 

SUMMARY: The Bureau of Consumer 

Financial Protection (Bureau) is 

publishing this agenda as part of the 

Spring 2021 Unified Agenda of Federal 

Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions. 

The Bureau reasonably anticipates 

having the regulatory matters identified 

below under consideration during the 

period from May 1, 2021 to April 30, 

2022. The next agenda will be published 

in Fall 2021 and will update this agenda 

through Fall 2022. Publication of this 

agenda is in accordance with the 

Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 

et seq.). 

DATES: This information is current as of 

April 26, 2021. 

ADDRESSES: Bureau of Consumer 

Financial Protection, 1700 G Street NW, 

Washington, DC 20552. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: A 

staff contact is included for each 

regulatory item listed herein. If you 

require this document in an alternative 

electronic format, please contact CFPB_

Accessibility@cfpb.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

Bureau is publishing its spring 2021 

Agenda as part of the Spring 2021 

Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory 

and Deregulatory Actions, which is 

coordinated by the Office of 

Management and Budget under 

Executive Order 12866. The agenda lists 

the regulatory matters that the Bureau 

reasonably anticipates having under 

consideration during the period from 

May 1, 2021 to April 30, 2022, as 

described further below.1 The complete 

Unified Agenda is available to the 

public at the following website: http:// 

www.reginfo.gov. 

Pursuant to the Dodd-Frank Wall 

Street Reform and Consumer Protection 

Act, Public Law 111–203, 124 Stat. 1376 

(Dodd-Frank Act), the Bureau has 

rulemaking, supervisory, enforcement, 

consumer education, and other 

authorities relating to consumer 

financial products and services. These 

authorities include the authority to 

issue regulations under more than a 

dozen Federal consumer financial laws, 

which transferred to the Bureau from 

seven Federal agencies on July 21, 2011. 

The Bureau’s general purpose, as 

specified in section 1021(a) of the DoddFrank Act, is to implement and enforce 

Federal consumer financial law 

consistently for the purpose of 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. 

In addition, section 1021 of the DoddFrank Act specifies the objectives of the 

Bureau, including ensuring that, with 

respect to consumer financial products 

and services, consumers are provided 

with timely and understandable 

information to make responsible 

decisions about financial transactions; 

consumers are protected from unfair, 

deceptive, or abusive acts and practices 

and from discrimination; outdated, 

unnecessary, or unduly burdensome 

regulations are regularly identified and 

addressed in order to reduce 

unwarranted regulatory burdens; that 

Federal consumer financial law is 

enforced consistently, without regard to 

the status of a person as a depository 

institution, in order to promote fair 

competition; and markets for consumer 

financial products and services operate 

transparently and efficiently to facilitate 

access and innovation. 

The Bureau is under interim 

leadership pending the appointment 

and confirmation of a permanent 

Director. In light of this status, Bureau 

leadership is prioritizing during coming 

months the continuation of certain 

ongoing rulemakings and a new 

rulemaking on mortgage servicing to 

provide relief for consumers facing 

hardship due to COVID–19 and the 

related economic crisis. Those projects 

are described further below. The Bureau 

expects that its new Director, when 

confirmed, will assess further what 

regulatory actions the Bureau should 

prioritize to best further our consumer 

protection mission and mandate, 

particularly in light of the ongoing 

pandemic and resulting economic crisis 

and the Bureau’s commitment to 

promoting racial equity. Accordingly, 

the Bureau anticipates that the Fall 2021 

Agenda will reflect the permanent 

Bureau Director’s priorities. In the 

meantime, the Bureau’s Acting Director 

has decided to reclassify as ‘‘inactive’’ 

or ‘‘withdrawn’’ certain rulemakings 

that had been listed in previous editions 

of the Bureau’s Unified Agenda in the 

expectation that final decisions on 

whether and when to proceed with such 

projects will be made in the coming 

months. This change in designation is 

not intended to signal a substantive 

decision on the merits of the projects 

but may reflect a change in priority. 

Continuation of Bureau Regulatory 

Efforts in Various Consumer Markets 

The Bureau is continuing to work on 

a number of rulemakings to address 

important consumer protection issues in 

a wide variety of markets for consumer 

financial products and services, 

including mortgages, debt collection, 

and small business lending, among 

others. The Bureau is mindful of how 

critically important these rulemakings 

are in light of the dire financial 

circumstances so many Americans find 

themselves in and of the impact of the 

pandemic and the resulting financial 

crisis on millions of consumers and 

small businesses. The Bureau is also 

mindful that the data show that these 

hardships fall disproportionately on 

families and small businesses in 

communities of color. 

For example, section 1071 of the 

Dodd-Frank Act amended the Equal 

Credit Opportunity Act to require, 

subject to rules prescribed by the 

Bureau, financial institutions to collect, 

report, and make public certain 

information concerning credit 

applications made by women-owned, 

minority-owned, and small businesses. 

Congress enacted section 1071 for the 

purpose of (1) Facilitating enforcement 

of fair lending laws and (2) enabling 

communities, governmental entities, 

and creditors to identify business and 

community development needs and 

opportunities for women-owned, 

minority-owned, and small businesses. 

Bureau research shows that small 

businesses play a key role in fostering 

community development and fueling 

economic growth, and that womenowned and minority-owned small 

businesses in particular play an 

important role in supporting their local 

communities. To contribute 

meaningfully to the U.S. economy and 

to their local community, small 

businesses—and especially womenowned and minority-owned small 

businesses—need access to credit to 

smooth business cash flows from 

current operations and to allow 

entrepreneurs to take advantage of 

opportunities for growth. This access to 

credit will be especially important as 

the nation works to rebuild the 

economy. The Bureau’s section 1071 

rule, when final, will be critical to 

enabling the Bureau to protect small 

business owners, including from 

unlawful discrimination, in their access 

to and use of credit. 

In September 2020, the Bureau 

released an outline of proposals under 


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consideration and alternatives 

considered in advance of convening a 

panel under the Small Business 

Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act 

(SBREFA), in conjunction with the 

Office of Management and Budget and 

the Small Business Administration’s 

Chief Counsel for Advocacy. The 

SBREFA panel was convened in October 

2020 and received feedback from 

representatives of small entities on the 

impacts possible approaches to the 

section 1071 rulemaking would have on 

small entities likely to be directly 

affected by it. The panel’s report was 

completed and released in December 

2020. The Bureau’s next action for 

section 1071 is to release a Notice of 

Proposed Rulemaking. 

The Bureau is also working on a 

rulemaking to address the availability of 

consumer financial account data in 

electronic form, which has helped 

consumers understand their finances 

and make better-informed financial 

decisions in a variety of ways. Research 

has indicated that the availability of 

certain consumer financial account data 

may improve underwriting and expand 

access to credit. At the same time, the 

means by which these data are accessed, 

transmitted, stored, and used by 

financial institutions of all kinds can 

implicate significant privacy, security, 

racial equity, and other consumer 

financial protection concerns. 

Furthermore, consumer access to their 

own financial data can foster improved 

transparency in credit decisions that 

affect consumers, including small and 

very small businesses relying on 

consumer credit access, and provide 

some protection against poor credit 

ratings based on serious errors in credit 

reports. This ability of consumers to 

access this information is particularly 

important at a time when financial 

institutions are increasingly using 

‘‘alternative data’’ in making credit 

decisions. The Bureau supports 

innovation and believes that appropriate 

implementation of section 1033 can lead 

to competitive, consumer-friendly 

markets, while recognizing the 

importance of ensuring the safety and 

security of consumer account data. 

Section 1033 of the Dodd-Frank Act 

provides that, subject to rules prescribed 

by the Bureau, covered persons shall 

make available to consumers, upon 

request, transaction data and other 

information concerning a consumer 

financial product or service that the 

consumer obtains from a covered 

person. Section 1033 also states that the 

Bureau shall prescribe by rule standards 

to promote the development and use of 

standardized formats for information 

made available to consumers. In 

November 2016, the Bureau released a 

Request for Information seeking 

comment from the public to better 

understand the consumer benefits and 

risks associated with market 

developments that rely on access to 

consumer financial account and 

account-related information. In October 

2017, the Bureau released Consumer 

Protection Principles for ConsumerAuthorized Financial Data Sharing and 

Aggregation to express the Bureau’s 

vision for the data aggregation market. 

The Bureau hosted a symposium on 

consumer authorized financial data 

sharing in February 2020. In November 

2020, the Bureau released an Advance 

Notice of Proposed Rulemaking 

(ANPRM) concerning consumer data 

access to implement section 1033, 

accepting comments until early 

February 2021. The Bureau is reviewing 

comments received in response to the 

ANPRM and is considering those 

comments as it assesses potential next 

steps. 

Next, the Bureau is working to 

implement section 307 of the Economic 

Growth, Regulatory Relief, and 

Consumer Protection Act of 2018 

(EGRRCPA), Public Law 115–174, 132 

Stat. 1297, which amends the Truth in 

Lending Act (TILA) to mandate that the 

Bureau prescribe certain regulations 

relating to ‘‘Property Assessed Clean 

Energy’’ (PACE) financing. PACE 

financing is a tool for consumers to 

finance certain improvements to 

residential real property. It is authorized 

by State and local governments and is 

typically available for projects 

promoting energy and water 

conservation, among other public policy 

goals identified in state statute. PACE is 

a hybrid product, with characteristics of 

both home equity lending and real 

property taxes. Like home equity loans, 

PACE obligations arise through 

voluntary contract and are secured by 

real property. But, under State law, they 

are billed and repaid as special property 

tax assessments and typically secured 

by a lien with equal priority to real 

property taxes. As defined by EGRRCPA 

section 307, PACE financing results in 

a tax assessment on a consumer’s real 

property and covers the costs of home 

improvements. EGRRCPA section 307 

states that the Bureau’s PACE 

regulations shall carry out the purposes 

of TILA’s ability-to-repay (ATR) 

requirements for residential mortgage 

loans and apply TILA’s general civil 

liability provision for violations of the 

ATR requirements. The regulations 

must ‘‘account for the unique nature’’ of 

PACE financing. Section 307 of the 

EGRRCPA also specifically authorizes 

the collection of data and information 

necessary to support a PACE 

rulemaking. In March 2019, the Bureau 

released an ANPRM and is continuing 

to engage with stakeholders and collect 

information for the rulemaking, 

including by collecting quantitative data 

on the effect of PACE on consumers’ 

financial outcomes. 

The Bureau is also participating in 

interagency rulemaking processes with 

the Board of Governors of the Federal 

Reserve System (Board), the Office of 

the Comptroller of the Currency, the 

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, 

the National Credit Union 

Administration, and the Federal 

Housing Finance Agency to develop 

regulations to implement the 

amendments made by the Dodd-Frank 

Act to the Financial Institutions Reform, 

Recovery, and Enforcement Act of 1989 

(FIRREA) concerning appraisals. The 

FIRREA amendments require 

implementing regulations for quality 

control standards for automated 

valuation models (AVMs). These 

standards are designed to ensure a high 

level of confidence in the estimates 

produced by the valuation models, 

protect against the manipulation of data, 

seek to avoid conflicts of interest, 

require random sample testing and 

reviews, and account for any other such 

factor that the Agencies determine to be 

appropriate. The Agencies will continue 

to work to develop a proposed rule to 

implement the Dodd-Frank Act’s AVM 

amendments to FIRREA. 

The Bureau is also continuing a 

rulemaking to address the anticipated 

expiration of the LIBOR index, which 

the UK Financial Conduct Authority has 

stated that it cannot guarantee the 

publication of beyond June 2023. This 

rulemaking is important for millions of 

consumers who have adjustable-rate 

mortgages, credit cards, student loans, 

reverse mortgages, home equity lines of 

credit (HELOCs), or other consumer 

products that are tied to the LIBOR 

index. The rulemaking would help to 

ensure that any changes to an index 

underlying these loans as a result of the 

transition to a different index due to the 

discontinuation of LIBOR are done by 

industry in an orderly, transparent, and 

fair manner. The Bureau’s work is 

designed to facilitate compliance by 

open-end and closed-end creditors and 

to lessen the financial impact to 

consumers by providing examples of 

replacement indices that meet 

Regulation Z requirements. For creditors 

for HELOCs (including reverse 

mortgages) and card issuers for credit 

card accounts, the rule would facilitate 

the transition of existing accounts to an 


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alternative index, beginning around 

April 2022, well in advance of LIBOR’s 

anticipated expiration. The rule also 

would address change-in-terms notice 

provisions for HELOCs and credit card 

accounts and how they apply to the 

transition away from LIBOR, to ensure 

that consumers are informed of the 

replacement index and any adjusted 

margin. To facilitate compliance by card 

issuers, the rule would address how the 

rate re-evaluation provisions applicable 

to credit card accounts apply to the 

transition from LIBOR to a replacement 

index. This rulemaking will enable the 

Bureau to facilitate compliance by 

creditors with Regulation Z as they 

transition away from LIBOR. The 

Bureau issued a Notice of Proposed 

Rulemaking (NPRM) in June 2020 and 

expects to issue a final rule in January 

2022. 

Rulemakings To Extend Compliance or 

Effective Dates 

The Bureau has proposed to extend 

the mandatory compliance date or 

effective date of certain final rules 

issued in 2020. First, the Bureau 

proposed on March 5, 2021, to extend 

the mandatory compliance date for a 

final rule issued in late 2020 amending 

the ‘‘qualified mortgages’’ (QM) 

provisions of Regulation Z, which 

implements TILA, to ensure 

homeowners struggling with the 

financial impacts of the COVID–19 

pandemic, as well as lenders, have the 

options they need to help people stay in 

their homes and to ensure the 

availability of responsible, affordable 

mortgages. 

The General QM final rule is part of 

the CFPB’s work to protect homeowners 

from debt traps and unaffordable, 

irresponsible mortgage loans. With 

certain exceptions, Regulation Z 

requires creditors to make a reasonable, 

good-faith determination of a 

consumer’s ability to repay any 

residential mortgage loan, and loans that 

meet Regulation Z’s requirements for a 

QM obtain certain protections from 

liability. One category of QMs covers 

certain loans that are eligible for 

purchase or guarantee by either the 

Federal National Mortgage Association 

(Fannie Mae) or the Federal Home Loan 

Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac). 

Under Regulation Z, this category of 

QMs (Temporary GSE QM or ‘‘Patch’’ 

loans) was scheduled to expire no later 

than January 10, 2021. The Bureau 

issued a final rule in October 2020, to 

extend the Patch so that it would expire 

on the mandatory compliance date of 

final amendments to the General QM 

loan definition in Regulation Z, or when 

the GSEs cease to operate under the 

conservatorship of the FHFA, if that 

happens earlier. This would help ensure 

a smooth and orderly transition away 

from the Patch by (among other things) 

allowing the Bureau to complete this 

rulemaking and to avoid any gap 

between the expiration of the Patch and 

the effective date of the proposed 

alternative. In December 2020, the 

Bureau finalized a new ‘‘seasoning’’ 

definition of QM which created an 

alternative pathway to QM safe-harbor 

status for certain mortgages when the 

borrower has consistently made timely 

payments for a period. Also in 

December 2020, the Bureau finalized 

amendments to the definition of General 

QM that removed the 43 percent debtto-income (DTI) requirement and 

instead established a pricing threshold 

(i.e., the difference between the loan’s 

annual percentage rate (APR) and the 

average prime offer rate for a 

comparable transaction) for loans to 

qualify as QMs. General QM loans still 

have to meet the statutory criteria for 

QM status, including restrictions related 

to loan features, up-front costs, and 

underwriting. The mandatory 

compliance date of the General QM final 

rule was July 1, 2021. However, in 

March 2021, the Bureau issued a 

proposed rule that would extend the 

mandatory compliance date until 

October 1, 2022, which would also have 

the effect of extending the availability of 

both the GSE Patch and the old, DTIbased General QM definition until that 

date. The purpose of the proposed 

extension is to help ensure flexibility 

and access to responsible, affordable 

mortgage credit for consumers affected 

by the COVID–19 pandemic by 

continuing until that date the 

availability of all three QM definitions. 

The Bureau expects to issue a final rule 

as to the extension of the mandatory 

compliance date this spring. 

Second, the Bureau issued on April 

19 a proposed rule to extend the 

effective date of two final rules issued 

in late 2020 to implement the Fair Debt 

Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). In 

October 2020, the Bureau issued a final 

rule prescribing rules under Regulation 

F to govern the activities of debt 

collectors, as that term is defined under 

the FDCPA. That final rule focused 

primarily on debt collection 

communications and addressed a 

number of other topics, including 

imposing record retention requirements 

and prohibiting the sale or transfer of 

certain types of debt. In December 2020, 

the Bureau issued a second final rule 

under Regulation F addressing 

disclosures related to the validation 

notice, requiring certain outreach by 

debt collectors before consumer 

reporting, and barring suits or threats of 

suit on time-barred debt. Both final 

rules are scheduled to take effect on 

November 30, 2021. The Bureau 

recently proposed to extend by 60 days 

the effective date of those final rules in 

light of the continuation well into 2021 

of the widespread societal disruption 

caused by the COVID–19 pandemic. In 

light of that disruption, the Bureau 

believes that providing additional time 

for stakeholders to review and, if 

applicable, to implement the final rules 

may be warranted. The Bureau’s next 

action is a final rule on whether and for 

how long to extend the effective date of 

these final rules after reviewing the 

comments submitted to the docket. 

New Projects and Planning for Future 

Rulemakings 

On April 5, 2021, the Bureau 

published an NPRM to propose 

amendments to the mortgage servicing 

early intervention and loss mitigationrelated provisions in Regulation X, 

which implements the Real Estate 

Settlement Procedures Act. The NPRM 

aims to help ensure that mortgage 

borrowers are evaluated for loss 

mitigation before servicers initiate the 

foreclosure process and to avert, to the 

extent possible, a foreclosure crisis 

when the COVID–19 forbearances end. 

Taking these measures to protect 

homeowners is especially important in 

the context of a pandemic that makes 

housing security not just a financial but 

also a public health priority, 

particularly for communities of color 

and lower income communities that 

have been hardest hit both by COVID– 

19 and by the related economic crisis. 

The Bureau is also actively reviewing 

existing regulations. Section 1022(d) of 

the Dodd-Frank Act requires the Bureau 

to conduct an assessment of each 

significant rule or order adopted by the 

Bureau under Federal consumer 

financial law and publish a report of 

each assessment not later than five years 

after the effective date of the subject 

matter or order. The Bureau is currently 

considering whether its rule 

implementing the Home Mortgage 

Disclosure Act, most of which became 

effective in January 2018, will require 

such an assessment and report. 

The Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) 

also requires the Bureau to consider the 

effect on small entities of certain rules 

it promulgates. The Bureau published in 

May 2019, its plan for conducting 

reviews, consistent with section 610 of 

the RFA, of certain regulations which 

are believed to have a significant impact 

on a substantial number of small 

entities. Congress specified that the 


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purpose of these reviews is to determine 

whether such rules should be continued 

without change, or should be amended 

or rescinded, consistent with the stated 

objectives of the applicable statutes, to 

minimize any significant economic 

impact of the rules upon a substantial 

number of such small entities. In August 

2020, the Bureau commenced its RFA 

section 610 review of Regulation Z rules 

that implement the Credit Card 

Accountability Responsibility and 

Disclosure Act of 2009. Specifically, the 

Bureau will review an interim final 

rule and three final rules published by 

the Board from July 2009 to April 2011. 

This review will be completed in the 

spring of 2021, and the Bureau will 

publish its determination concerning 

any resulting changes to the rule, in the 

Fall 2021 Unified Agenda. 

Finally, as required by the DoddFrank Act, the Bureau is continuing to 

monitor markets for consumer financial 

products and services to identify risks to 

consumers and the proper functioning 

of such markets. As discussed in a 

recent report by the Government 

Accountability Office, the Bureau’s 

Division of Research, Markets, and 

Regulations and specifically its Markets 

Offices continuously monitor market 

developments and risks to consumers. 

The Bureau also has created a number 

of cross-Bureau working groups focused 

around specific markets which advance 

the Bureau’s market monitoring work. 

The Bureau’s market monitoring work 

assists in identifying issues for potential 

future rulemaking work. 

Dated: March 17, 2021. 

Susan M. Bernard, 

Assistant Director for Regulations, Bureau of 

Consumer Financial Protection. 

CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION BUREAU—PROPOSED RULE STAGE

Sequence No. Title Regulation 

Identifier No. 

294 .................... Business Lending Data (Regulation B) ............................................................................................................ 3170–AA09 

CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION BUREAU—FINAL RULE STAGE

Sequence No. Title Regulation 

Identifier No. 

295 .................... Debt Collection Rule ........................................................................................................................................ 3170–AA41 

CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION 

BUREAU (CFPB) 

Proposed Rule Stage 

294. Business Lending Data (Regulation 

B) 

Legal Authority: 15 U.S.C. 1691c–2 

Abstract: Section 1071 of the DoddFrank Wall Street Reform and Consumer 

Protection Act (Dodd-Frank Act) 

amended the Equal Credit Opportunity 

Act (ECOA) to require, subject to rules 

prescribed by the Bureau, financial 

institutions to report information 

concerning credit applications made by 

women-owned, minority-owned, and 

small businesses. ECOA is a critical law 

that protects small business owners, 

including from unlawful discrimination, 

in their access to and use of credit. 

Section 1071 requires that certain data 

be collected, maintained, and reported 

to the Bureau, including whether the 

applicant is a women-owned, minorityowned, or small business; the number of 

the application and date the application 

was received; the type and purpose of 

the loan or credit applied for; the 

amount of credit applied for and 

approved; the type of action taken with 

respect to the application and the date 

of such action; the census tract of the 

applicant’s principal place of business; 

the gross annual revenue of the 

business; and the race, sex, and 

ethnicity of the principal owners of the 

business. Section 1071 also provides 

authority for the Bureau to require any 

additional data that the Bureau 

determines would aid in fulfilling its 

statutory purposes. The Bureau may 

adopt exceptions to any requirement of 

section 1071 and may exempt any 

financial institution from its 

requirements, as the Bureau deems 

necessary or appropriate to carry out 

section 1071’s purposes. The Bureau 

issued a Request for Information in 2017 

seeking public comment on, among 

other things, the types of credit products 

offered and the types of data currently 

collected by lenders in this market, and 

the potential complexity, cost of, and 

privacy issues related to, small business 

data collection. In November 2019, the 

Bureau hosted a symposium on small 

business data collection to facilitate its 

decision-making. In addition, in July 

2020, the Bureau released a survey of 

lenders to obtain estimates of one-time 

costs lenders of varying sizes would 

incur to collect and report data pursuant 

to section 1071. In September 2020, the 

Bureau released an outline of proposals 

under consideration and alternatives 

considered in advance of convening a 

panel under the Small Business 

Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act 

(SBREFA), in conjunction with the 

Office of Management and Budget and 

the Small Business Administration’s 

Chief Counsel for Advocacy. The 

SBREFA panel was convened in October 

2020 and received feedback from 

representatives of small entities on the 

impacts the rules the Bureau is 

considering to implement section 1071 

would have on small entities likely to be 

directly affected by the rulemaking. The 

panel’s report was completed and 

released in December 2020. The 

Bureau’s next step for section 1071 is to 

release a Notice of Proposed 

Rulemaking. Consistent with its 

statutory purposes, an eventual section 

1071 rule will facilitate enforcement of 

fair lending laws as well as enable 

communities, governmental entities, 

and creditors to identify business and 

community development needs and 

opportunities of women-owned, 

minority-owned, and small businesses. 

Timetable: 

Action Date FR Cite 

Request for Information.05/15/17 82 FR 22318 

Request for Information Comment Period 

End.

09/14/17 

SBREFA Outline 09/15/20 

Pre-rule Activity— 

SBREFA Report.

12/14/20 

NPRM .................. 09/00/21 

Regulatory Flexibility Analysis 

Required: Yes. 

Agency Contact: Kristine Andreassen, 

Office of Regulations, Consumer 

Financial Protection Bureau, 


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Washington, DC 20552, Phone: 202 435– 

7700. 

RIN: 3170–AA09 

CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION 

BUREAU (CFPB) 

Final Rule Stage 

295. Debt Collection Rule 

Legal Authority: 15 U.S.C. 1692l(d) 

Abstract: In May 2019, the Bureau 

issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking 

(NPRM), which would prescribe rules 

under Regulation F to govern the 

activities of debt collectors, as that term 

is defined under the Fair Debt 

Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). The 

Bureau proposed, among other things, to 

address communications in connection 

with debt collection; interpret and apply 

prohibitions on harassment or abuse, 

false or misleading representations, and 

unfair practices in debt collection; and 

clarify requirements for certain 

consumer-facing debt collection 

disclosures. The proposal built on the 

Bureau’s research and pre-rulemaking 

activities regarding the debt collection 

market, including convening a panel in 

August 2016 under the Small Business 

Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act 

(SBREFA) in conjunction with the 

Office of Management and Budget and 

the Small Business Administration’s 

Chief Counsel for Advocacy. The 

Bureau also engaged in testing of timebarred debt disclosures that were not 

addressed in the May 2019 proposed 

rule. In early 2020, after completing the 

testing, the Bureau issued a 

supplemental NPRM related to timebarred debt disclosures. In October 

2020, the Bureau issued a final rule that 

focused primarily on debt collection 

communications and addressed a 

number of other topics, including 

imposing record retention requirements 

and prohibiting the sale or transfer of 

certain types of debt. In December 2020, 

the Bureau issued a final rule 

addressing disclosures related to the 

validation notice, requiring certain 

outreach by debt collectors before 

consumer reporting, and barring suits or 

threats of suit on time-barred debt. Both 

final rules are scheduled to take effect 

on November 30, 2021. In April 2021, in 

light of the continuation well into 2021 

of the widespread societal disruption 

caused by the COVID–19 pandemic, the 

Bureau issued a NPRM to extend the 

effective date of both rules by 60 days 

and anticipates that its next action will 

be a final rule as to the effective date. 

Timetable: 

Action Date FR Cite 

ANPRM ............... 11/12/13 78 FR 67847 

ANPRM Comment 

Period Extended.

01/14/14 79 FR 2384 

ANPRM Comment 

Period End.

02/10/14 

ANPRM Comment 

Period Extended End.

02/28/14 

Pre-Rule Activity—SBREFA 

Outline.

07/28/16 

Action Date FR Cite 

NPRM .................. 05/21/19 84 FR 23274 

NPRM Comment 

Period Extended.

08/02/19 84 FR 37806 

NPRM Comment 

Period End.

08/19/19 

NPRM Comment 

Period Extended End.

09/18/19 

Supplemental 

NPRM.

03/03/20 85 FR 12672 

Supplemental 

NPRM Comment Period Extended.

03/27/20 85 FR 17299 

Supplemental 

NPRM Comment Period Extended End.

08/04/20 

Final Rule 1 ......... 11/30/20 85 FR 76734 

Final Rule 2—Disclosures.01/19/21 86 FR 5766 

NPRM—Effective 

Date Extension.

04/19/21 86 FR 20334 

Final Rule—Effective Date Extension.06/00/21 

Regulatory Flexibility Analysis 

Required: Yes. 

Agency Contact: Kristin McPartland, 

Office of Regulations, Consumer 

Financial Protection Bureau, 

Washington, DC 20552, Phone: 202 435– 

7700. 

RIN: 3170–AA41 

[FR Doc. 2021–14877 Filed 7–29–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4810–AM–P 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with PROPOSALS21