650 
mission, to become or remain a person associ-
ated with the security-based swap dealer or 
major security-based swap participant in con-
travention of such order, if such security-based 
swap dealer or major security-based swap par-
ticipant knew, or in the exercise of reasonable 
care should have known, of such order. 
‘‘(5) EXEMPTIONS.—The Commission may ex-
empt, conditionally or unconditionally, a security- 
based swap dealer or major security-based swap par-
ticipant from the prudential requirements of the 
Over-the-Counter Derivatives Markets Act of 2009 if 
the Commission finds that such security-based swap 
dealer or major security-based swap participant is 
subject to comparable, comprehensive supervision 
and regulation on a consolidated basis by the Com-
modity Futures Trading Commission, a Prudential 
Regulator or the appropriate governmental authori-
ties in the organization’s home country. 
‘‘(n) EXEMPTIVE AUTHORITY.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission, by rule 
or regulation, may conditionally or unconditionally 
exempt any person, derivative, or transaction, or any 
class or classes of persons, derivatives, or trans-
actions, from any provision of this Act that was 
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added by an amendment in the Over-the-Counter 
Derivatives Markets Act of 2009, to the extent that 
such exemption is necessary or appropriate in the 
public interest, and is consistent with the purposes 
of such Act. 
‘‘(2) PROCEDURES.—The Commission shall, by 
rule or regulation, determine the procedures under 
which an exemptive order under this subsection shall 
be granted and may, in its sole discretion, decline to 
entertain any application for an order of exemption 
under this subsection.’’. 
SEC. 3205. NATIONAL SECURITY EXCHANGE REGISTRATION 
REQUIREMENTS. 
Section 6(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 
(15 U.S.C. 78f(b)) is amended by adding at the end the 
following new paragraphs: 
‘‘(10) The rules of the exchange minimize con-
flicts of interest in its decision-making process and 
establish a process for resolving such conflicts of in-
terest. 
‘‘(11) The rules of an exchange that trades se-
curity-based swaps provide that a majority of the di-
rectors of the exchange shall not be associated with 
a restricted owner. 
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‘‘(12) The rules of an exchange that trades se-
curity-based swaps provide that a restricted owner 
shall not be permitted directly or indirectly to ac-
quire beneficial ownership of interests in the ex-
change or in persons with a controlling interest in 
the exchange, to the extent that such an acquisition 
would result in restricted owners controlling more 
than 20 percent of the votes entitled to be cast on 
any matter by the holders of the ownership inter-
ests.’’. 
SEC. 3206. REPORTING AND RECORDKEEPING. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Securities Exchange Act of 
1934 (15 U.S.C. 78a, et seq.) is amended by inserting 
after section 13 the following section: 
‘‘SEC. 13A. REPORTING AND RECORDKEEPING FOR CER-
TAIN SECURITY-BASED SWAPS. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Any person who enters into a se-
curity-based swap and— 
‘‘(1) did not clear the security-based swap in 
accordance with section 3A; and 
‘‘(2) did not have data regarding the security- 
based swap accepted by a security-based swap repos-
itory in accordance with rules adopted by the Com-
mission under section 13(n), 
shall meet the requirements in subsection (b). 
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‘‘(b) REPORTS.—Any person described in subsection 
(a) shall— 
‘‘(1) make such reports in such form and man-
ner and for such period as the Commission shall pre-
scribe by rule or regulation regarding the security- 
based swaps held by the person; and 
‘‘(2) keep books and records pertaining to the 
security-based swaps held by the person in such 
form and manner and for such period as may be re-
quired by the Commission, which books and records 
shall be open to inspection by any representative of 
the Commission, an appropriate Federal banking 
agency, the Commodity Futures Trading Commis-
sion, the Financial Services Oversight Council, and 
the Department of Justice. 
‘‘(c) IDENTICAL DATA.—In adopting rules under this 
section, the Commission shall require persons described in 
subsection (a) to report the same or more comprehensive 
data than the Commission requires security-based swap 
repositories to collect under subsection (n).’’. 
(b) BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP REPORTING.— 
(1) Section 13(d)(1) of the Securities Exchange 
Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78m(d)(1)) is amended by 
inserting ‘‘or otherwise becomes or is deemed to be-
come a beneficial owner of any of the foregoing upon 
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the purchase or sale of a security-based swap or 
other derivative instrument as the Commission may 
define by rule, and’’ after ‘‘Alaska Native Claims 
Settlement Act,’’. 
(2) Section 13(g)(1) of the Securities Exchange 
Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78m(g)(1)) is amended by 
inserting ‘‘or otherwise becomes or is deemed to be-
come a beneficial owner of any security of a class de-
scribed in subsection (d)(1) upon the purchase or 
sale of a security-based swap or other derivative in-
strument, as the Commission may define by rule’’ 
after ‘‘subsection (d)(1) of this section’’. 
(c) REPORTS BY INSTITUTIONAL INVESTMENT MAN-
AGERS.—Section 13(f)(1) of the Securities Exchange Act 
of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78m(f)(1)) is amended by striking 
‘‘section 13(d)(1) of this title’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection 
(d)(1), or otherwise becomes or is deemed to become a 
beneficial owner of any security of a class described in sub-
section (d)(1) upon the purchase or sale of a security- 
based swap or other derivative instrument, as the Commis-
sion may define by rule,’’. 
(d) ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEEDING AUTHORITY.— 
Section 15(b)(4) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 
(15 U.S.C. 78o(b)(4)) is amended— 
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(1) in subparagraph (C), by inserting ‘‘security- 
based swap dealer, major security-based swap partic-
ipant,’’ after ‘‘government securities dealer,’’; and 
(2) in subparagraph (F), by inserting ‘‘, or se-
curity-based swap dealer, or a major security-based 
swap participant’’ after ‘‘or dealer’’. 
(e) DERIVATIVES BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP.—Section 
13 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 
78m) is amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(o) BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP.—For purposes of this 
section and section 16, a person shall be deemed to acquire 
beneficial ownership of an equity security based on the 
purchase or sale of a security-based swap or other deriva-
tive instrument only to the extent that the Commission, 
by rule, determines after consultation with the Prudential 
Regulators and the Secretary of the Treasury, that the 
purchase or sale of the security-based swap or other deriv-
ative instrument, or class of security-based swaps or other 
derivative instruments, provides incidents of ownership 
comparable to direct ownership of the equity security, and 
that it is necessary to achieve the purposes of this section 
that the purchase or sale of the security-based swaps or 
instrument, or class of security-based swap or instru-
ments, be deemed the acquisition of beneficial ownership 
of the equity security.’’. 
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SEC. 3207. STATE GAMING AND BUCKET SHOP LAWS. 
Section 28(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 
(15 U.S.C. 78bb(a)) is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘(a) Except as provided in subsection (f), the rights 
and remedies provided by this title shall be in addition 
to any and all other rights and remedies that may exist 
at law or in equity; but no person permitted to maintain 
a suit for damages under the provisions of this title shall 
recover, through satisfaction of judgment in one or more 
actions, a total amount in excess of his actual damages 
on account of the act complained of. Except as otherwise 
specifically provided in this title, nothing in this title shall 
affect the jurisdiction of the securities commission (or any 
agency or officer performing like functions) of any State 
over any security or any person insofar as it does not con-
flict with the provisions of this title or the rules and regu-
lations thereunder. No State law which prohibits or regu-
lates the making or promoting of wagering or gaming con-
tracts, or the operation of ‘bucket shops’ or other similar 
or related activities, shall invalidate (1) any put, call, 
straddle, option, privilege, or other security subject to this 
title (except a security-based swap agreement and any se-
curity that has a pari-mutuel payout or otherwise is deter-
mined by the Commission, acting by rule, regulation, or 
order, to be appropriately subject to such laws), or apply 
to any activity which is incidental or related to the offer, 
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purchase, sale, exercise, settlement, or closeout of any 
such security, (2) any security-based swap between eligible 
contract participants, or (3) any security-based swap ef-
fected on a national securities exchange registered pursu-
ant to section 6(b). No provision of State law regarding 
the offer, sale, or distribution of securities shall apply to 
any transaction in a security-based swap or a security fu-
tures product, except that this sentence shall not be con-
strued as limiting any State antifraud law of general ap-
plicability.’’. 
SEC. 3208. AMENDMENTS TO THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933; 
TREATMENT OF SECURITY-BASED SWAPS. 
(a) DEFINITIONS.—Section 2(a) of the Securities Act 
of 1933 (15 U.S.C. 77b(a)) is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘security- 
based swap,’’ after ‘‘security future,’’; 
(2) in paragraph (3) by adding at the end the 
following: ‘‘Any offer or sale of a security-based 
swap by or on behalf of the issuer of the securities 
upon which such security-based swap is based or is 
referenced, an affiliate of the issuer, or an under-
writer, shall constitute a contract for sale of, sale of, 
offer for sale, or offer to sell such securities.’’; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following: 
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‘‘(17) The terms ‘swap’ and ‘security-based 
swap’ have the same meanings as provided in sec-
tions 1a(35) and (38) of the Commodity Exchange 
Act (7 U.S.C. 1a(35) and (38)). 
‘‘(18) The terms ‘purchase’ or ‘sale’ of a secu-
rity-based swap shall be deemed to mean the execu-
tion, termination (prior to its scheduled maturity 
date), assignment, exchange, or similar transfer or 
conveyance of, or extinguishing of rights or obliga-
tions under, a security-based swap, as the context 
may require.’’. 
(b) EXEMPTION FROM REGISTRATION.—Section 3(a) 
of the Securities Act of 1933 is amended by adding at 
the end the following: 
‘‘(15) Any security-based swap, as defined in 
section 2(a)(17) that is not otherwise a security as 
defined in section 2(a)(1) and that satisfies such 
conditions as established by rule or regulation by the 
Commission consistent with the provisions of the 
Over-the-Counter Derivatives Markets Act of 2009. 
The Commission shall promulgate rules imple-
menting this exemption.’’. 
(c) REGISTRATION OF SECURITY-BASED SWAPS.— 
Section 5 of the Securities Act of 1933 (15 U.S.C. 77e) 
is amended by adding at the end the following: 
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‘‘(d) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 3 or 
section 4, unless a registration statement meeting the re-
quirements of subsection (a) of section 10 is in effect as 
to a security-based swap, it shall be unlawful for any per-
son, directly or indirectly, to make use of any means or 
instruments of transportation or communication in inter-
state commerce or of the mails to offer to sell, offer to 
buy or purchase or sell a security-based swap to any per-
son who is not an eligible contract participant as defined 
in section 1a(13) of the Commodity Exchange Act (7 
U.S.C. 1a(13)).’’. 
SEC. 3209. OTHER AUTHORITY. 
Unless otherwise provided by its terms, this subtitle 
does not divest any appropriate Federal banking agency, 
the Commission, the Commodity Futures Trading Com-
mission, or other Federal or State agency, of any authority 
derived from any other applicable law. 
SEC. 3210. JURISDICTION. 
Section 36 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 
(15 U.S.C. 78mm) is amended by adding at the end the 
following new subsection: 
‘‘(c) EXEMPTIVE
AUTHORITY.—The Commission 
may use its authority under subsection (a) to exempt any 
person, security, or transaction, or any class of persons, 
securities, or transactions from any provision or provisions 
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of this title or of any rule or regulation thereunder that 
applies to such person, security, or transaction solely be-
cause a security-based swap is a security, as such term 
is defined in section 3(a) of this title.’’. 
SEC. 3211. EFFECTIVE DATE. 
This subtitle is effective 270 days after the date of 
enactment. 
Subtitle C—Miscellaneous 
SEC. 3301. STUDY ON FEASIBILITY OF REQUIRING USE OF 
STANDARDIZED 
ALGORITHMIC 
DESCRIP-
TIONS FOR FINANCIAL DERIVATIVES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Securities and Exchange 
Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Com-
mission shall conduct a joint study of the feasibility of re-
quiring the derivatives industry to adopt standardized 
computer-readable algorithmic descriptions which may be 
used to describe complex and standardized financial de-
rivatives. 
(b) GOALS.—The algorithmic descriptions defined in 
the study shall be designed to facilitate computerized anal-
ysis of individual derivative contracts and to calculate net 
exposures to complex derivatives. The algorithmic descrip-
tions shall be optimized for simultaneous use by: 
(1) commercial users and traders of derivatives; 
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(2) derivative clearing houses, exchanges and 
electronic trading platforms; 
(3) trade repositories and regulator investiga-
tions of market activities; and 
(4) systemic risk regulators. 
The study will also examine the extent to which the algo-
rithmic description, together with standardized and exten-
sible legal definitions, may serve as the binding legal defi-
nition of derivative contracts. The study will examine the 
logistics of possible implementations of standardized algo-
rithmic descriptions for derivatives contracts. The study 
shall be limited to electronic formats for exchange of deriv-
ative contract descriptions and will not contemplate disclo-
sure of proprietary valuation models. 
(c) INTERNATIONAL COORDINATION.—In conducting 
the study, the Securities and Exchange Commission and 
the Commodity Futures Trading Commission shall coordi-
nate the study with international financial institutions and 
regulators as appropriate and practical. 
(d) REPORT.—Within 8 months after the date of the 
enactment of this title, the Securities and Exchange Com-
mission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission 
shall jointly submit to the Committees on Agriculture and 
on Financial Services of the House of Representatives and 
the Committees on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry 
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and on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Sen-
ate a written report which contains the results of the study 
required by subsections (a) through (c). 
SEC. 3302. STUDY OF DESIRABILITY AND FEASIBILITY OF 
ESTABLISHING SINGLE REGULATOR FOR ALL 
TRANSACTIONS INVOLVING FINANCIAL DE-
RIVATIVES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Treasury, 
the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and the Se-
curities and Exchange Commission shall conduct a joint 
study of the desirability and feasibility of establishing, by 
January 1, 2012, a single regulator for all transactions 
involving financial derivatives. 
(b) REPORT TO THE CONGRESS.—Not later than De-
cember 1, 2010, Secretary of the Treasury, the Com-
modity Futures Trading Commission, and the Securities 
and Exchange Commission shall jointly submit to the 
Committees on Agriculture and on Financial Services of 
the House of Representatives and the Committees on Ag-
riculture, Nutrition, and Forestry and on Banking, Hous-
ing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate a written report that 
contains the results of the study required by subsection 
(a). 
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SEC. 3303. RECOMMENDATIONS FOR CHANGES TO INSOL-
VENCY LAWS. 
Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment 
of this title, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the 
Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and the Pru-
dential Regulators (as defined in section 1a of the Com-
modity Exchange Act, as amended by section 3101 of this 
title) shall transmit to Congress recommendations for leg-
islative changes to the Federal insolvency laws— 
(1) in order to enhance the legal certainty with 
respect to swap participants clearing non-proprietary 
swap positions with a swap clearinghouse, includ-
ing— 
(A) customer rights to recover margin de-
posits or custodial property held at or through 
an insolvent swap clearinghouse, or clearing 
participant; and 
(B) the enforceability of clearing rules re-
lating to the portability of customer swap posi-
tions (and associated margin) upon the insol-
vency of a clearing participant; 
(2) to clarify and harmonize the insolvency law 
framework applicable to entities that are both com-
modity brokers (as defined in section 101(6) of title 
11, United States Code) and registered brokers or 
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dealers (as defined in section 3(a) of the Securities 
Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78c(a))); and 
(3) to facilitate the portfolio margining of secu-
rities and commodity futures and options positions 
held through entities that are both futures commis-
sion merchants (as defined in section 1a of the Com-
modity Exchange Act) and registered brokers or 
dealers (as defined in section 3 of the Securities Ex-
change Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78c(a))). 
SEC. 3304. PROHIBITION AGAINST GOVERNMENT ASSIST-
ANCE. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—No provision of this title shall be 
construed to authorize Federal assistance to support the 
clearing operations or liquidation of a derivatives clearing 
organization described in the Commodity Exchange Act, 
except where explicitly authorized by an Act of Congress. 
(b) DEFINITION.—For the purposes of this section, 
the term ‘‘Federal assistance’’ shall be defined as the use 
of public funds for the purposes of— 
(1) making loans to, or purchasing any debt ob-
ligation of, a derivatives clearing organization or a 
subsidiary; 
(2) purchasing assets of a derivatives clearing 
organization or a subsidiary; 
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(3) assuming or guaranteeing the obligations of 
a derivatives clearing organization or a subsidiary; 
or 
(4) acquiring any type of equity interest or se-
curity of a derivatives clearing organization or a sub-
sidiary. 
TITLE 
IV—CONSUMER 
FINAN-
CIAL 
PROTECTION 
AGENCY 
ACT 
SEC. 4001. SHORT TITLE. 
This title may be cited as the ‘‘Consumer Financial 
Protection Agency Act of 2009’’. 
SEC. 4002. DEFINITIONS. 
For the purposes of subtitles A through F of this 
title, the following definitions shall apply: 
(1) AFFILIATE.—The term ‘‘affiliate’’ means 
any person that controls, is controlled by, or is 
under common control with another person. 
(2) AGENCY.—The term ‘‘Agency’’ means the 
Consumer Financial Protection Agency. 
(3) BANK
HOLDING
COMPANY.—The term 
‘‘bank holding company’’ has the same meaning as 
in section 2(a) of the Bank Holding Company Act 
of 1956. 
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(4) BOARD.—Except when used in connection 
with the term ‘‘Board of Governors’’, the term 
‘‘Board’’ means the Consumer Financial Protection 
Oversight Board. 
(5) BOARD OF GOVERNORS.—The term ‘‘Board 
of Governors’’ means the Board of Governors of the 
Federal Reserve System. 
(6) BUSINESS
OF
INSURANCE.—The term 
‘‘business of insurance’’ means the writing of insur-
ance or the reinsuring of risks by an insurer, includ-
ing all acts necessary to such writing or reinsuring 
and the activities relating to the writing of insurance 
or the reinsuring of risks conducted by persons who 
act as, or are, officers, directors, agents, or employ-
ees of insurers or who are other persons authorized 
to act on behalf of such persons. 
(7) CONSUMER.—The term ‘‘consumer’’ means 
an individual or an agent, trustee, or representative 
acting on behalf of an individual. 
(8) CONSUMER FINANCIAL PRODUCT OR SERV-
ICE.—The term ‘‘consumer financial product or 
service’’ means any financial product, other than a 
Federal tax return, or service to be used by a con-
sumer primarily for personal, family, or household 
purposes. 
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(9) COVERED PERSON.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘covered per-
son’’ means any person who engages directly or 
indirectly in a financial activity, in connection 
with the provision of a consumer financial prod-
uct or service. 
(B) EXCLUSION.—The term ‘‘covered per-
son’’ shall not include the Secretary, the De-
partment of the Treasury, any agency or bu-
reau under the jurisdiction of the Secretary, or 
any person collecting Federal taxes for the 
United States to the extent such person is act-
ing in such capacity. 
(10) CREDIT.—The term ‘‘credit’’ means the 
right granted by a person to a consumer to defer 
payment of a debt, incur debt and defer its payment, 
or purchase property or services and defer payment 
for such purchase. 
(11) CREDIT UNION.—The term ‘‘credit union’’ 
means a Federal credit union or a State credit union 
as defined in section 101 of the Federal Credit 
Union Act. 
(12) DEPOSIT.—The term ‘‘deposit’’— 
(A) has the same meaning as in section 
3(l) of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act; and 
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(B) includes a share in a member account 
(as defined in section 101(5) of the Federal 
Credit Union Act) at a credit union. 
(13) DEPOSIT-TAKING
ACTIVITY.—The term 
‘‘deposit-taking activity’’ means— 
(A) the acceptance of deposits, the mainte-
nance of deposit accounts, or the provision of 
services related to the acceptance of deposits; 
(B) the acceptance of money, the provision 
of other services related to the acceptance of 
money, or the maintenance of members’ share 
accounts by a credit union; or 
(C) the receipt of money or its equivalent, 
as the Director may determine by regulation or 
order, received or held by the covered person 
(or an agent for the person) for the purpose of 
facilitating a payment or transferring funds or 
value of funds by a consumer to a third party. 
(14) DESIGNATED TRANSFER DATE.—The term 
‘‘designated transfer date’’ has the meaning pro-
vided in section 4602. 
(15) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means 
the Director of the Agency. 
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(16) ENUMERATED
CONSUMER
LAWS.—The 
term ‘‘enumerated consumer laws’’ means each of 
the following: 
(A) The Alternative Mortgage Transaction 
Parity Act (12 U.S.C. 3801 et seq.). 
(B) The Electronic Funds Transfer Act 
(15 U.S.C. 1693 et seq.) 
(C) The Equal Credit Opportunity Act (15 
U.S.C. 1691 et seq.). 
(D) The Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 
U.S.C. 1681 et seq.), except with respect to sec-
tions 615(e) and 628 of such Act. 
(E) The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act 
(15 U.S.C. 1692 et seq.). 
(F) Subsections (c), (d), (e), and (f) of sec-
tion 43 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act 
(12 U.S.C. 1831t). 
(G) Sections 502, 503, 504, 505, 506, 
507, 508, and 509 of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley 
Act (15 U.S.C. 6802 et seq.). 
(H) The Homeowners Protection Act of 
1998. 
(I) The Home Mortgage Disclosure Act 
(12 U.S.C. 2801 et seq.). 
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(J) The Real Estate Settlement Proce-
dures Act (12 U.S.C. 2601 et seq.). 
(K) The Secure and Fair Enforcement for 
Mortgage Licensing Act (12 U.S.C. 5101 et 
seq.). 
(L) The Truth in Lending Act (15 U.S.C. 
1601 et seq.). 
(M) The Truth in Savings Act (12 U.S.C. 
4301 et seq.). 
(17) FEDERAL BANKING AGENCY.—The term 
‘‘Federal banking agency’’ means the Board of Gov-
ernors, the Comptroller of the Currency, the Direc-
tor of the Office of Thrift Supervision, the Federal 
Deposit Insurance Corporation, or the National 
Credit Union Administration and the term ‘‘Federal 
banking agencies’’ means all of such agencies. 
(18) FAIR LENDING.—The term ‘‘fair lending’’ 
means fair, equitable, and nondiscriminatory access 
to credit for both individuals and communities. 
(19) FINANCIAL ACTIVITY.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘financial ac-
tivity’’ means any of the following activities: 
(i) Deposit-taking activities. 
(ii) Extending credit and servicing 
loans, including— 
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(I) acquiring, purchasing, selling, 
brokering, or servicing loans or other 
extensions of credit; 
(II) engaging in any other activ-
ity usual in connection with extensions 
of credit or servicing loans, including 
performing appraisals of real estate 
and personal property. 
(iii) Check cashing and check-guar-
anty services, including— 
(I) authorizing a subscribing 
merchant to accept personal checks 
tendered by the merchant’s customers 
in payment for goods and services; 
and 
(II) purchasing from a sub-
scribing merchant validly authorized 
checks that are subsequently dishon-
ored. 
(iv) Collecting, analyzing, maintain-
ing, and providing consumer report infor-
mation or other account information by 
covered persons, including information re-
lating to the credit history of consumers 
and providing the information to a credit 
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grantor who is considering a consumer ap-
plication for credit or who has extended 
credit to the borrower. 
(v) Collection of debt related to any 
consumer financial product or service. 
(vi) Providing real estate settlement 
services. 
(vii) Leasing personal or real property 
or acting as agent, broker, or adviser in 
leasing such property if— 
(I) the lease is on a non-oper-
ating basis; 
(II) the initial term of the lease 
is at least 90 days; and 
(III) in the case of leases involv-
ing real property, at the inception of 
the initial lease, the transaction is in-
tended to result in ownership of the 
leased property to be transferred to 
the lessee, subject to standards pre-
scribed by the Director. 
(viii) Acting as an investment adviser 
to any person (excluding an investment ad-
viser that is a person regulated by the 
Commodity Futures Trading Commission, 
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the Securities and Exchange Commission, 
or any securities commission (or any agen-
cy or office performing like functions) of 
any State). 
(ix) Acting as financial adviser to any 
person (excluding an investment adviser 
that is a person regulated by the Com-
modity Futures Trading Commission, the 
Securities and Exchange Commission, or 
any securities commission (or any agency 
or office performing like functions) of any 
State), including— 
(I) providing financial and other 
related advisory services; 
(II) 
providing 
educational 
courses, and instructional materials to 
consumers 
on 
individual 
financial 
management matters; 
(III) providing credit counseling 
or tax planning services to any person 
(excluding the preparation of returns, 
or claims for refund, of tax imposed 
by the Internal Revenue Code or ad-
vice with respect to positions taken 
therein, or services regulated by the 
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Secretary of the Treasury under sec-
tion 330 of title 31, United States 
Code); or 
(IV) providing services to assist a 
consumer with debt management or 
debt settlement, with modifying the 
terms of any extension of credit, or 
with avoiding foreclosure. 
(x) For purposes of this title, the fol-
lowing shall not be considered acting as fi-
nancial adviser: 
(I) Publishing any bona fide 
newspaper, news magazine or business 
or financial publication of general and 
regular circulation, including pub-
lishing market data, news, or data 
analytics or investment information or 
recommendations that are not tailored 
to the individual needs of a particular 
consumer. 
(II) Providing advice, analyses, 
or reports that do not relate to any 
securities other than securities which 
are direct obligations of or obligations 
guaranteed as to principal or interest 
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by the United States, or securities 
issued or guaranteed by corporations 
in which the United States has a di-
rect or indirect interest which shall 
have been designated by the Secretary 
of the Treasury, pursuant to section 
3(a)(12) of the Securities Exchange 
Act of 1934, as exempted securities 
for the purposes of that Act. 
(xi) Financial data processing by any 
technological means, including providing 
data processing, access to or use of data-
bases or facilities, or advice regarding 
processing or archiving, if the data to be 
processed, furnished, stored, or archived 
are financial, banking, or economic, except 
that it shall not be considered a ‘‘financial 
activity’’ if with respect to financial data 
processing the person— 
(I) unknowingly or incidentally 
transmits, processes, or stores finan-
cial data in a manner that such data 
is undifferentiated from other types of 
data that the person transmits, proc-
esses, or stores; 
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(II) does not provide to any con-
sumer a consumer financial product 
or service in connection with or relat-
ing to in any manner financial data 
processing; and 
(III) does not provide a material 
service to any covered person in con-
nection with the provision of a con-
sumer financial product or service. 
(xii) Money transmitting. 
(xiii) Sale, provision or issuance of 
stored value, except that, in the case of a 
sale, only if the seller influences the terms 
or conditions of the stored value provided 
to the consumer. 
(xiv) Acting as a money services busi-
ness. 
(xv) Acting as a custodian of money 
or any financial instrument. 
(xvi)(I) Any other activity that the Di-
rector defines, by regulation, as a financial 
activity after finding that— 
(aa) the activity has, or 
there is a substantial likelihood 
that the activity will have, a ma-
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terial adverse impact on the cred-
itworthiness or financial well 
being of consumers; 
(bb) the activity is incidental 
or complementary to any other fi-
nancial activity regulated by the 
Agency; or 
(cc) the activity is entered 
into or conducted as a subterfuge 
or with a purpose to evade any 
requirement under this title, the 
enumerated consumer laws, and 
the authorities transferred under 
subtitles F and H. 
(II) For purposes of subclause (I)(bb), 
the following activities provided to a cov-
ered person shall not be ‘‘incidental or 
complementary’’: 
(aa) Providing information prod-
ucts or services to a covered person 
for identity authentication. 
(bb) Providing information prod-
ucts or services for fraud or identify 
theft detection, prevention, or inves-
tigation. 
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(cc) Providing document retrieval 
or delivery services. 
(dd) Providing public records in-
formation retrieval. 
(ee) Providing information prod-
ucts or services for anti-money laun-
dering activities. 
(B) BUSINESS
OF
INSURANCE
EXCEP-
TION.—The term ‘‘financial activity’’ shall not 
include the business of insurance. 
(20) FINANCIAL PRODUCT OR SERVICE.—The 
term ‘‘financial product or service’’ means any prod-
uct or service that, directly or indirectly, results 
from or is related to engaging in 1 or more financial 
activities. 
(21) FOREIGN EXCHANGE.—The term ‘‘foreign 
exchange’’ means the exchange, for compensation, of 
currency of the United States or of a foreign govern-
ment for currency of another government. 
(22) INSURED CREDIT UNION.—The term ‘‘in-
sured credit union’’ has the same meaning as in sec-
tion 101 of the National Credit Union Act. 
(23) INSURED DEPOSITORY INSTITUTION.—The 
term ‘‘insured depository institution’’ has the same 
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meaning as in section 3 of the Federal Deposit In-
surance Act. 
(24) MONEY SERVICES BUSINESS.—The term 
‘‘money services business’’ means a person that— 
(A) receives currency, monetary value, or 
payment instruments for the purpose of ex-
changing or transmitting the same by any 
means, including transmission by wire, fac-
simile, electronic transfer, courier, the Internet, 
or through bill payment services, or other busi-
nesses that facilitate third-party transfers with-
in the United States or to or from the United 
States; or 
(B) issues payment instruments or stored 
value. 
(25) 
MONEY
TRANSMITTING.—The 
term 
‘‘money transmitting’’ means the receipt by a cov-
ered person of currency, monetary value, or payment 
instruments for the purpose of transmitting the 
same to any third-party by any means, including 
transmission by wire, facsimile, electronic transfer, 
courier, the Internet, or through bill payment serv-
ices. 
(26) PAYMENT INSTRUMENT.—The term ‘‘pay-
ment instrument’’ means a check, draft, warrant, 
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money order, traveler’s check, electronic instrument, 
or other instrument, payment of money, or monetary 
value (other than currency). 
(27) PERSON.—The term ‘‘person’’ means an 
individual, partnership, company, corporation, asso-
ciation (incorporated or unincorporated), trust, es-
tate, cooperative organization, or other entity. 
(28) PERSON REGULATED BY A STATE INSUR-
ANCE REGULATOR.—The term ‘‘person regulated by 
a State insurance regulator’’ means any person who 
is— 
(A) engaged in the business of insurance, 
and 
(B) subject to regulation by any State in-
surance regulator, 
but only to the extent that such person acts in such 
capacity. 
(29) PERSON REGULATED BY THE COMMODITY 
FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘person 
regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Com-
mission’’ means any futures commission merchant, 
commodity trading adviser, commodity pool oper-
ator, introducing broker, boards of trade, derivatives 
clearing organizations, or multilateral clearing orga-
nizations to the extent that such person’s actions are 
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681 
subject to the jurisdiction of the Commodity Futures 
Trading Commission under the Commodity Ex-
change Act and any agent, employee, or contractor 
acting on behalf of, registered with, or providing 
services to such person but only to the extent the 
person, or the employee, agent, or contractor of such 
person, acts in a registered capacity. 
(30) PERSON REGULATED BY THE SECURITIES 
AND
EXCHANGE
COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘person 
regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commis-
sion’’ means— 
(A) a broker or dealer that is required to 
be registered under the Securities Exchange Act 
of 1934; 
(B) an investment adviser that is reg-
istered under the Investment Advisers Act of 
1940; 
(C) an investment company that is re-
quired to be registered under the Investment 
Company Act of 1940; 
(D) a national securities exchange that is 
required to be registered under the Securities 
Exchange Act of 1934; 
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(E) a transfer agent that is required to be 
registered under the Securities Exchange Act of 
1934; 
(F) a clearing corporation that is required 
to be registered under the Securities Exchange 
Act of 1934; 
(G) any municipal securities dealer that is 
registered with the Securities and Exchange 
Commission; 
(H) any self-regulatory organization that is 
registered with the Securities and Exchange 
Commission; 
(I) any national securities exchange or 
other entity that is required to be registered 
under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934; 
and 
(J) the Municipal Securities Rulemaking 
Board, 
and any employee, agent, or contractor acting on be-
half of, registered with, or providing services to, any 
such person, but only to the extent that the person, 
or the employee agent, or contractor of such person, 
acts in a registered capacity. 
(31) PROVISION
OF
A
CONSUMER
FINANCIAL 
PRODUCT OR SERVICE.—The terms ‘‘provision of a 
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consumer financial product or service’’ and ‘‘pro-
viding a consumer financial product or service’’ 
mean the advertisement, marketing, solicitation, 
sale, disclosure, delivery, or account maintenance or 
servicing of a consumer financial product or service. 
(32) PERSON
THAT
PERFORMS
INCOME
TAX 
PREPARATION
ACTIVITIES
FOR
CONSUMERS.—The 
term ‘‘person that performs income tax preparation 
activities for consumers’’ means— 
(A) any tax return preparer (as defined in 
section 7701(a)(36) of the Internal Revenue 
Code of 1986), regardless of whether com-
pensated, but only to the extent that the person 
acts in such capacity; 
(B) any person regulated by the Secretary 
of the Treasury under section 330 of title 31, 
United States Code, but only to the extent that 
the person acts in such capacity; and 
(C) any authorized IRS e-file Providers (as 
defined for purposes of section 7216 of the In-
ternal Revenue Code of 1986), but only to the 
extent that the person acts in such capacity. 
(33) RELATED PERSON.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘related per-
son’’, when used in connection with a covered 
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person that is not a bank holding company, 
credit union, depository institution, means— 
(i) any director, officer, employee 
charged with managerial responsibility, or 
controlling stockholder of, or agent for, 
such covered person; 
(ii) any shareholder, consultant, joint 
venture partner, and any other person as 
determined by the Director (by regulation 
or on a case-by-case basis) who materially 
participates in the conduct of the affairs of 
such covered person; and 
(iii) any independent contractor (in-
cluding any attorney, appraiser, or ac-
countant), with respect to such covered 
person, who knowingly or recklessly par-
ticipates in any— 
(I) violation of any law or regula-
tion; or 
(II) breach of fiduciary duty. 
(B) TREATMENT OF A RELATED PERSON 
AS A COVERED PERSON.—Any person who is a 
related person under subparagraph (A) shall be 
deemed to be a covered person for all purposes 
of this title, any enumerated consumer law, and 
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any law for which authorities were transferred 
by subtitles F and H. 
(34) 
SECRETARY.—The 
term 
‘‘Secretary’’ 
means the Secretary of the Treasury. 
(35) SERVICE PROVIDER.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘service pro-
vider’’ means any person who provides a mate-
rial service to a covered person in the provision 
of a consumer financial product or service, in-
cluding a person who— 
(i) facilitates the design of, or oper-
ations relating to the provision of, the con-
sumer financial product or service; 
(ii) has direct interaction with a con-
sumer (whether in person or via tele-
communication device or other similar 
technology) regarding the consumer finan-
cial product or service; or 
(iii) processes transactions relating to 
the consumer financial product or service. 
(B) EXCEPTIONS.—The term ‘‘service pro-
vider’’ shall not apply to a person solely by vir-
tue of such person providing or selling to a cov-
ered person— 
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(i) a support service of a type pro-
vided to businesses generally or a similar 
ministerial service; 
(ii) a service that does not materially 
affect the terms or conditions of the con-
sumer financial product or service, its per-
formance or operation, or the propensity of 
a consumer to obtain or use such product 
or service; or 
(iii) time or space for an advertise-
ment for a consumer financial product or 
service through print, newspaper, or elec-
tronic media. 
(36) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means any 
State, territory, or possession of the United States, 
the District of Columbia, Commonwealth of Puerto 
Rico, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Is-
lands, Guam, American Samoa, or the United States 
Virgin Islands. 
(37) 
STORED
VALUE.—The 
term 
‘‘stored 
value’’— 
(A) means funds or monetary value rep-
resented in any electronic format, whether or 
not specially encrypted, and stored or capable 
of storage on electronic media in such a way as 
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to be retrievable and transferred electronically; 
and 
(B) includes a prepaid debit card or prod-
uct (other than a card or product used solely 
for telephone services) or any other similar 
product, 
regardless of whether the amount of the funds or 
monetary value may be increased or reloaded. 
Subtitle A—Establishment of the 
Agency 
SEC. 4101. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE CONSUMER FINANCIAL 
PROTECTION AGENCY. 
(a) AGENCY ESTABLISHED.—There is established the 
Consumer Financial Protection Agency as an independent 
agency to regulate the provision of consumer financial 
products or services under this title, the enumerated con-
sumer laws, and the authorities transferred under sub-
titles F and H. 
(b) PRINCIPAL OFFICE.—The principal office of the 
Agency shall be located in the city of Washington, District 
of Columbia, at 1 or more sites. 
SEC. 4102. DIRECTOR. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF POSITION.— 
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(1) IN GENERAL.—There is hereby established 
the position of the Director of the Agency who shall 
be the head of the Agency. 
(2) 
AUTHORITY
TO
PRESCRIBE
REGULA-
TIONS.—The Director may prescribe such regula-
tions and issue such orders in accordance with this 
title as the Director may determine to be necessary 
for carrying out this title and all other laws within 
the Director’s jurisdiction. 
(b) APPOINTMENT; TERM.— 
(1) APPOINTMENT.—The Director shall be ap-
pointed by the President, by and with the advice and 
consent of the Senate, from among individuals who 
are citizens of the United States. 
(2) TERM.—The Director shall be appointed for 
a term of 5 years. 
(3) REMOVAL.—The Director may be removed 
before the end of a term only for cause. 
(4) VACANCY.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—A vacancy in the posi-
tion of Director which occurs before the expira-
tion of the term for which a Director was ap-
pointed shall be filled in the manner established 
in paragraph (1) and the Director appointed to 
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689 
fill such vacancy shall be appointed only for the 
remainder of such term. 
(B) ACTING DIRECTOR.— 
(i) IN GENERAL.—In the event of a 
vacancy in the position of Director or dur-
ing the absence or disability of the Direc-
tor, an Acting Director shall be appointed 
in the manner provided in section 3345, of 
title 5, United States Code. 
(ii) AUTHORITY
OF
ACTING
DIREC-
TOR.—Any individual serving as Acting Di-
rector under this subparagraph shall be 
vested with all authority, duties, and privi-
leges of the Director. 
(5) SERVICE AFTER END OF TERM.—An indi-
vidual may serve as Director after the expiration of 
the term for which appointed until a successor Di-
rector has been appointed and qualified. 
(c) PROHIBITION ON FINANCIAL INTERESTS.—The 
Director shall not have a direct or indirect financial inter-
est in any covered person. 
(d) COMPENSATION.—The Director shall receive com-
pensation at the rate prescribed for Level I of the Execu-
tive Schedule under section 5313 of title 5, United States 
Code. 
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690 
SEC. 4103. CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION OVER-
SIGHT BOARD. 
(a) ESTABLISHED.—There is hereby established the 
Consumer Financial Protection Oversight Board as an in-
strumentality of the United States. 
(b) DUTIES AND POWERS.— 
(1) DUTY TO ADVISE DIRECTOR.—The Board 
shall advise the Director on— 
(A) the consistency of a proposed regula-
tion of the Director with prudential, market, or 
systemic objectives administered by the agencies 
that comprise the Board; 
(B) the overall strategies and policies in 
carrying out the duties of the Director under 
this title; and 
(C) actions the Director can take to en-
hance and ensure that all consumers are subject 
to robust financial protection. 
(2) LIMITATION ON POWERS.—The Board may 
not exercise any executive authority, and the Direc-
tor may not delegate to the Board any of the func-
tions, powers, or duties of the Director. 
(c) COMPOSITION.—The Board shall be comprised of 
7 members as follows: 
(1) The Chairman of the Board of Governors. 
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(2) The head of the agency responsible for 
chartering and regulating national banks. 
(3) The Chairperson of the Federal Deposit In-
surance Corporation. 
(4) The Chairman of the National Credit Union 
Administration. 
(5) The Chairman of the Federal Trade Com-
mission. 
(6) The Secretary of Housing and Urban Devel-
opment. 
(7) The Chairman of the liaison committee of 
representatives of State agencies to the Financial In-
stitutions Examination Council. 
(d) REPRESENTATIVE OF ADDITIONAL INTERESTS.— 
(1) COMPOSITION.—Notwithstanding subsection 
(c), the President, by and with the advice and con-
sent of the Senate, shall appoint 5 additional mem-
bers of the Board from among experts in the fields 
of consumer protection, fair lending and civil rights, 
representatives of depository institutions that pri-
marily serve underserved communities, or represent-
atives of communities that have been significantly 
impacted by higher-priced mortgage loans, as such 
communities are identified by the Director through 
an analysis of data received by reason of the provi-
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692 
sions of the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act of 1975 
or other data on lending patterns. 
(2) AFFILIATION.—With respect to members 
appointed pursuant to paragraph (1), not more than 
3 shall be members of any one political party. 
(e) MEETINGS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Board shall meet upon 
notice by the Director, but in no event shall the 
Board meet less frequently than once every 3 
months. 
(2) SPECIAL MEETINGS.—Any member of the 
Board may, upon giving written notice to the Direc-
tor, require a special meeting of the Board. 
(f) PROHIBITION ON ADDITIONAL COMPENSATION.— 
Members of the Board may not receive additional pay, al-
lowances, or benefits by reason of their service on the 
Board. 
(g) COMPLAINTS RELATED TO REQUIRED OFFERING 
OF SPECIFIC FINANCIAL PRODUCTS OR SERVICES.—The 
Board shall establish procedures to receive and analyze 
complaints from any person claiming that the Director is 
not in compliance with the requirements under section 
4311. 
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SEC. 4104. EXECUTIVE AND ADMINISTRATIVE POWERS. 
The Director may exercise all executive and adminis-
trative functions of the Agency, including to— 
(1) establish regulations for conducting the 
Agency’s general business in a manner not incon-
sistent with this title; 
(2) bind the Agency and enter into contracts; 
(3) direct the establishment of and maintain di-
visions or other offices within the Agency in order to 
fulfill the responsibilities of this title, the enumer-
ated consumer laws, and the authorities transferred 
under subtitles F and H, and to satisfy the require-
ments of other applicable law; 
(4) coordinate and oversee the operation of all 
administrative, enforcement, and research activities 
of the Agency; 
(5) adopt and use a seal; 
(6) determine the character of and the necessity 
for the Agency’s obligations and expenditures, and 
the manner in which they shall be incurred, allowed, 
and paid; 
(7) delegate authority, at the Director’s discre-
tion, to any officer or employee of the Agency to 
take action under any provision of this title or under 
other applicable law; 
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(8) to implement this title and the Agency’s au-
thorities under the enumerated consumer laws and 
under subtitles F and H through regulations, orders, 
guidance, interpretations, statements of policy, ex-
aminations, and enforcement actions; and 
(9) perform such other functions as may be au-
thorized or required by law. 
SEC. 4105. ADMINISTRATION. 
(a) OFFICERS.—The Director shall appoint the fol-
lowing officials: 
(1) A secretary, who shall be charged with 
maintaining the records of the Agency and per-
forming such other activities as the Director directs. 
(2) A general counsel, who shall be charged 
with overseeing the legal affairs of the Agency and 
performing such other activities as the Director di-
rects. 
(3) An inspector general, who shall have the au-
thority and functions of an inspector general of a 
designated Federal entity under the Inspector Gen-
eral Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App. 3). 
(4) An Ombudsperson, who shall— 
(A) develop and maintain expertise in and 
understanding of the law relating to consumer 
financial products; 
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(B) at the request of a Federal agency or 
a State agency, and with the prior approval of 
the Director, advise such agency with respect to 
actions that may affect consumers; 
(C) advise consumers who may have a le-
gitimate potential or actual claim against a 
Federal agency involving the provision of con-
sumer financial products regarding their rights 
under this title; 
(D) identify Federal agency actions that 
have potential implications for consumers and, 
if appropriate, and with the prior approval of 
the Director, advise the relevant Federal agen-
cies with respect to those implications; 
(E) provide information to private citizens, 
civic groups, Federal agencies, State agencies, 
and other interested parties regarding the 
rights of those parties under this title; 
(F) develop, maintain, and provide exper-
tise designed to assist covered persons, espe-
cially smaller depository institutions and other 
smaller entities to comply with regulations and 
other requirements issued to implement the pro-
visions of this title, and where such assistance 
for smaller depository institutions shall be pro-
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vided jointly by the Agency and the appropriate 
Federal banking agency; 
(G) develop procedures to assist covered 
persons, especially smaller depository institu-
tions and other smaller entities, in responding 
to or challenging actions taken by the Director 
or the Agency to implement the provisions of 
this title and to ensure that safeguards exist to 
preserve the confidentiality of covered persons 
using those procedures; and 
(H) perform such other duties as the Di-
rector may delegate to the Ombudsperson. 
(b) PERSONNEL.— 
(1) APPOINTMENT.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—The Director may fix 
the number of, and appoint and direct, all em-
ployees of the Agency. 
(B) EXPEDITED
HIRING.—The Director 
may appoint, without regard to the provisions 
of sections 3309 through 3318, of title 5, 
United States Code, candidates directly to posi-
tions for which public notice has been given. 
(C) HIRING VETERANS.—In hiring employ-
ees of the Agency, the Director shall establish 
appropriate targets, including timetables, to 
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hire veterans (as defined in paragraphs (1) and 
(2) of section 2108 of title 5, United States 
Code) as employees of the Agency. In estab-
lishing appropriate targets under this para-
graph, the Director may consider, among other 
relevant factors, the proportion of veterans 
hired by Federal agencies with comparable 
functions or types of occupations and their ex-
periences in hiring veterans. 
(2) COMPENSATION.— 
(A) PAY.—The Director shall fix, adjust, 
and administer the pay for all employees of the 
Agency without regard to the provisions of 
chapter 51 or subchapter III of chapter 53 of 
title 5, United States Code. 
(B) BENEFITS.—The Director may provide 
additional benefits to Agency employees if the 
same type of benefits are then being provided 
by the Board of Governors or, if not then being 
provided, could be provided by the Board of 
Governors under applicable provisions of law or 
regulations. 
(C) MINIMUM
STANDARD.—The Director 
shall at all times provide compensation and ben-
efits to classes of employees that, at a min-
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imum, are equivalent to the compensation and 
benefits provided by the Board of Governors for 
the corresponding class of employees in any fis-
cal year. 
(c) SPECIFIC FUNCTIONAL UNITS.— 
(1) RESEARCH.—The Agency shall establish a 
unit whose functions shall include— 
(A) conducting research on consumer fi-
nancial counseling and education, including— 
(i) on the topics of debt, credit, sav-
ings, financial product usage, and financial 
planning; 
(ii) exploring effective methods, tools, 
and approaches; and 
(iii) identifying ways to incorporate 
new technology for the delivery and evalua-
tion of financial counseling and education 
efforts; 
(B) researching, analyzing, and reporting 
on— 
(i) current and prospective develop-
ments in markets for consumer financial 
products or services, including market 
areas of alternative consumer financial 
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products or services with high growth 
rates; 
(ii) 
consumer 
awareness, 
under-
standing, and use of disclosures and com-
munications regarding consumer financial 
products or services; 
(iii) consumer awareness and under-
standing of costs, risks, and benefits of 
consumer financial products or services; 
(iv) consumer behavior with respect to 
consumer financial products or services, in-
cluding performance on mortgage loan; 
and 
(v) experiences of traditionally under-
served consumers, including un-banked and 
under-banked consumers, regarding con-
sumer financial products or services; 
(C) identifying priorities for consumer fi-
nancial education efforts, based on consumer 
complaints, research or analysis conducted pur-
suant to subparagraph (A), or other informa-
tion; and 
(D) testing and identifying methods of 
educating consumers to determine which meth-
ods are most effective. 
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(2) COMMUNITY AFFAIRS.—The Director shall 
establish a unit whose functions shall include pro-
viding information, guidance, and technical assist-
ance regarding the provision of consumer financial 
products or services to traditionally underserved con-
sumers and communities. 
(3) CONSUMER COMPLAINTS.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall es-
tablish a unit whose functions shall include es-
tablishing a central database, or utilizing an ex-
isting database, for collecting and tracking in-
formation on consumer complaints about con-
sumer financial products or services and resolu-
tion of complaints. 
(B) COORDINATION.—In performing the 
functions described in subparagraph (A), the 
Director shall coordinate with the Federal 
banking agencies, other Federal agencies, and 
other regulatory agencies or enforcement au-
thorities. 
(C) DATA
SHARING
REQUIRED.—To the 
extent permitted by law and the regulations 
prescribed by the Director regarding the con-
fidential treatment of information, the Director 
shall share data relating to consumer com-
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plaints with Federal banking agencies, other 
Federal agencies, and State regulators. To the 
extent permitted by law and the regulations 
prescribed by the Federal banking agencies and 
other Federal agencies regarding the confiden-
tial treatment of information, the Federal bank-
ing agencies and other Federal agencies, respec-
tively, shall share data relating to consumer 
complaints with the Director and the Agency. 
(4) CONSUMER FINANCIAL EDUCATION.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—The Agency shall es-
tablish a unit to be named the Office of Finan-
cial Literacy, whose functions shall include ac-
tivities designed to facilitate the education of 
consumers on consumer financial products and 
services, including through the dissemination of 
materials to consumers on such topics. 
(B) DIRECTOR.—The Office of Financial 
Literacy shall be headed by a director. 
(C) DUTIES.—Such unit shall— 
(i) develop goals for programs to be 
provided by persons that provide consumer 
financial education and counseling, includ-
ing programs through which such per-
sons— 
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(I) provide one-on-one financial 
counseling; 
(II) help individuals understand 
basic banking and savings tools; 
(III) help individuals understand 
their credit history and credit score; 
(IV) assist individuals in efforts 
to plan for major purchases, reduce 
their debt, and improve their financial 
stability; and 
(V) work with individuals to de-
sign plans for long-term savings; 
(ii) develop recommendations regard-
ing effective certification of persons pro-
viding programs, or performing the activi-
ties, described in clause (i), including rec-
ommendations regarding— 
(I) certification processes and 
standards for certification; 
(II) appropriate certifying bodies; 
and 
(III) mechanisms for funding the 
certification processes; 
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(iii) develop a technology tool to col-
lect data on financial education and coun-
seling outcomes; and 
(iv) conduct research to identify effec-
tive methods, tools, technoloy, and strate-
gies to educate and counsel consumers 
about personal finance management, in-
cluding on the topics of debt, credit, sav-
ings, financial product usage, and financial 
planning. 
(D) COORDINATION.—Such unit shall co-
ordinate with other units within the Agency in 
carrying out its functions, including— 
(i) working with the unit established 
under paragraph (2) to— 
(I) provide information and re-
sources to community organizations, 
nonprofit organizations, and other en-
tities to assist in helping educate con-
sumers 
about 
consumer 
financial 
products and services; and 
(II) develop a marketing strategy 
to promote financial education and 
one-on-one counseling; and 
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(ii) working with the unit established 
under paragraph (1) to conduct research 
related to consumer financial education 
and counseling. 
(d) SINGLE TOLL-FREE TELEPHONE NUMBER FOR 
CONSUMER COMPLAINTS AND INQUIRIES.— 
(1) CALL INTAKE SYSTEM.—The Consumer Fi-
nancial Protection Agency shall establish a single, 
toll-free telephone number for consumer complaints 
and inquiries concerning institutions regulated by 
such agencies and a system for collecting and moni-
toring complaints and, as soon as practicable, a sys-
tem for routing such calls to the Federal financial 
institution regulatory agency that primarily super-
vises the financial institution, or that is otherwise 
the appropriate Federal agency to address the sub-
ject of the complaint or inquiry. 
(2) ROUTING CALLS TO STATES.—To the extent 
practicable, State agencies may receive appropriate 
call transfers from the system established under 
paragraph (1) if— 
(A) the State agency’s system has the 
functional capacity to receive calls routed by the 
system; and 
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(B) the State agency has satisfied any con-
ditions of participation in the system that the 
Council, 
coordinating 
with 
State 
agencies 
through the chairperson of the State Liaison 
Committee, may establish. 
(e) REPORT TO THE CONGRESS.—Before the end of 
the 6-month period beginning on the date of the enact-
ment of this title, the Federal financial institution regu-
latory agencies shall submit a report to the Committee on 
Financial Services of the House of Representatives and 
the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs 
of the Senate describing the agencies’ efforts to estab-
lish— 
(1) a public interagency Web site for directing 
and referring Internet consumer complaints and in-
quiries concerning any financial institution to the 
Consumer Financial Protection Agency for purposes 
of collecting, monitoring, and responding to such 
complaints and, where appropriate, a system for re-
ferring complaints to the Federal financial institu-
tion regulatory agency, other Federal agency, or 
State agency that is otherwise the appropriate agen-
cy to address the subject of the complaint or inquiry; 
and 
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(2) a system to expedite the prompt and effec-
tive rerouting of any misdirected consumer com-
plaint or inquiry documents between or among the 
agencies, with prompt referral of any complaint or 
inquiry to the appropriate Federal financial institu-
tion regulatory agency, and to participating State 
agencies. 
(f) OFFICE OF FAIR LENDING AND EQUAL OPPOR-
TUNITY.— 
(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—Before the end of the 
180-day period beginning on the date of the enact-
ment of this title, the Director shall establish within 
the Agency the Office of Fair Lending and Equal 
Opportunity. 
(2) FUNCTIONS.—The Office of Fair Lending 
and Equal Opportunity shall have such powers and 
duties as the Director may delegate the Office which 
shall include the following functions: 
(A) Providing oversight and enforcement of 
Federal laws intended to ensure the fair, equi-
table, and nondiscriminatory access to credit for 
both individuals and communities that are en-
forced by the Agency, including the Equal 
Credit Opportunity Act and the Home Mort-
gage Disclosure Act. 
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(B) Coordinating fair lending enforcement 
efforts of the Agency with other Federal agen-
cies and State regulators, as appropriate, to 
promote consistent, efficient and effective en-
forcement of Federal fair lending laws. 
(C) Working with private industry, fair 
lending, civil rights, consumer and community 
advocates on the promotion of fair lending com-
pliance and education. 
(D) Providing annual reports to the Con-
gress on the Agency’s efforts to fulfill its fair 
lending mandate. 
(3) ADMINISTRATION
OF
OFFICE.—There is 
hereby established the position of Assistant Director 
of the Agency for Fair Lending and Equal Oppor-
tunity who— 
(A) shall be appointed by the Director; 
(B) shall carry out such duties as the Di-
rector may delegate to such Assistant Director; 
and 
(C) shall serve as the Director of the Of-
fice of Fair Lending and Equal Opportunity. 
(4) PROHIBITIONS ON PARTICIPATION IN PRO-
GRAMS WITH RESPECT TO CERTAIN INDICTED ORGA-
NIZATIONS.— 
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(A) PROHIBITION.—The Director of the 
Office of Fair Lending and Equal Opportunity 
may not allow a covered organization to partici-
pate in any program established by such Direc-
tor. 
(B) COVERED
ORGANIZATION.—In this 
paragraph, the term ‘‘covered organization’’ 
means any of the following: 
(i) Any organization that has been in-
dicted for a violation under any Federal or 
State law governing the financing of a 
campaign for election for public office or 
any law governing the administration of an 
election for public office, including a law 
relating to voter registration. 
(ii) Any organization that had its 
State corporate charter terminated due to 
its failure to comply with Federal or State 
lobbying disclosure requirements. 
(iii) Any organization that has filed a 
fraudulent form with any Federal or State 
regulatory agency. 
(iv) Any organization that— 
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(I) employs any applicable indi-
vidual, in a permanent or temporary 
capacity; 
(II) has under contract or retains 
any applicable individual; or 
(III) has any applicable indi-
vidual acting on the organization’s be-
half or with the express or apparent 
authority of the organization. 
(C) ADDITIONAL
DEFINITIONS.—In this 
paragraph: 
(i) The term ‘‘organization’’ includes 
the Association of Community Organiza-
tions for Reform Now (in this paragraph 
referred to as ‘‘ACORN’’) and any 
ACORN-related affiliate. 
(ii) The term ‘‘ACORN-related affil-
iate’’ means any of the following: 
(I) Any State chapter of ACORN 
registered 
with 
the 
Secretary 
of 
State’s office in that State. 
(II) Any organization that shares 
directors, employees, or independent 
contractors with ACORN. 
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(III) Any organization that has a 
financial stake in ACORN. 
(IV) Any organization whose fi-
nances, whether federally funded, 
donor-funded, or raised through orga-
nizational goods and services, are 
shared or controlled by ACORN. 
(iii) The term ‘‘applicable individual’’ 
means an individual who has been indicted 
for a violation under Federal or State law 
relating to an election for Federal or State 
office. 
(D) REVISION OF FEDERAL ACQUISITION 
REGULATION.—The Federal Acquisition Regu-
lation shall be revised to carry out the provi-
sions of this paragraph relating to contracts. 
(E) SEVERABILITY.—If any provision of 
this section or any application of such provision 
to any person or circumstance is held to be un-
constitutional, the remainder of this section and 
the application of the provision to any other 
person or circumstance shall not be affected. 
SEC. 4106. CONSUMER ADVISORY BOARD. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT REQUIRED.—The Director shall 
establish a Consumer Advisory Board to advise and con-
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sult with the Director in the exercise of the functions of 
the Director and the Agency under this title, the enumer-
ated consumer laws, and to provide information on emerg-
ing practices in the consumer financial products or serv-
ices industry. 
(b) MEMBERSHIP.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—In appointing the members 
of the Consumer Advisory Board, the Director shall 
seek— 
(A) to assemble experts in financial serv-
ices, community development, fair lending and 
civil rights, consumer protection, and consumer 
financial products or services; and 
(B) to represent the interests of covered 
persons and consumers. 
(2) PROHIBITION ON MEMBERSHIP WITH RE-
SPECT TO CERTAIN INDICTED ORGANIZATIONS.—The 
director may not appoint an employee of a covered 
organization (as defined in section 4105(f)(4)(B)) to 
the Consumer Advisory Board. 
(c) POLITICAL AFFILIATION.—Not more than 1 more 
than half of the members of the Consumer Advisory Board 
may be members of the same political party. 
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(d) MEETINGS.—The Consumer Advisory Board shall 
meet from time to time at the call of the Director, but, 
at a minimum, shall meet at least twice in each year. 
(e) COMPENSATION AND TRAVEL EXPENSES.—Mem-
bers of the Consumer Advisory Board who are not full- 
time employees of the United States shall— 
(1) be entitled to receive compensation at a rate 
fixed by the Director while attending meetings of the 
Consumer Advisory Board, including travel time; 
and 
(2) be allowed travel expenses, including trans-
portation and subsistence, while away from their 
homes or regular places of business. 
SEC. 4107. COORDINATION. 
(a) COORDINATION WITH OTHER FEDERAL AGEN-
CIES AND STATE REGULATORS.—The Director shall co-
ordinate with the Securities and Exchange Commission, 
the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the Sec-
retary of the Treasury, and other Federal agencies and 
State regulators, as appropriate, to promote consistent 
regulatory treatment of, and enforcement related to, con-
sumer and investment products, services, and laws. 
(b) COORDINATION OF CONSUMER EDUCATION INI-
TIATIVES.— 
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(1) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall coordi-
nate with each agency that is a member of the Fi-
nancial Literacy and Education Commission estab-
lished by the Financial Literacy and Education Im-
provement Act (20 U.S.C. 9701 et seq.) to assist 
each agency in enhancing its existing financial lit-
eracy and education initiatives to better achieve the 
goals in paragraph (2) and to ensure the consistency 
of such initiatives across Federal agencies. 
(2) GOALS OF COORDINATION.—In coordinating 
with the agencies described in paragraph (1), the 
Director shall seek to improve efforts to educate 
consumers about financial matters generally, the 
management of their own financial affairs, and their 
judgments about the appropriateness of certain fi-
nancial products. 
(c) COORDINATION.—The Agency may coordinate in-
vestigations, compliance examinations, information shar-
ing, and related activities in support of activities under-
taken pursuant to the Fair Housing Act by other Federal 
agencies. 
SEC. 4108. REPORTS TO THE CONGRESS. 
(a) REPORTS REQUIRED.—The Director shall pre-
pare and submit to the President and the appropriate 
committees of the Congress a report at the beginning of 
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each regular session of the Congress, beginning with the 
session following the designated transfer date. 
(b) CONTENTS.—The reports required by subsection 
(a) shall include— 
(1) a list of the significant regulations and or-
ders adopted by the Director, as well as other sig-
nificant initiatives conducted by the Director, during 
the preceding year and the Director’s plan for regu-
lations, orders, or other initiatives to be undertaken 
during the upcoming period; 
(2) an analysis of complaints about consumer 
financial products or services that the Agency has 
received and collected in its central database on 
complaints during the preceding year; 
(3) a list, with a brief statement of the issues, 
of the public supervisory and enforcement actions to 
which the Agency is a party (including adjudication 
proceedings conducted under subtitle E) during the 
preceding year; 
(4) the actions taken regarding regulations, or-
ders, and supervisory actions with respect to covered 
persons which are not credit unions or depository in-
stitutions, including descriptions of the types of such 
covered persons, financial activities, and consumer 
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financial products or services affected by such regu-
lations, orders, and supervisory actions; 
(5) an appraisal of significant actions, including 
actions under Federal or State law, by State attor-
neys general or State regulators relating to this title, 
the authorities transferred under subtitles F and H, 
and the enumerated consumer laws; 
(6) an analysis of the Agency’s efforts to fulfill 
the fair lending mission of the Agency; and 
(7) an appraisal of the regulatory and legal dif-
ficulties encountered by the Agency in carrying out 
the mission and duties of the Agency with respect to 
consumer protection, including a description of— 
(A) the difficulties and hardships encoun-
tered with respect to coordinating with other 
Federal and State government entities; 
(B) the regulatory and enforcement limita-
tions placed on the Agency by this title; 
(C) the practices of persons, covered and 
uncovered under this title, that allow such per-
sons to harm consumers and escape regulation 
or enforcement, including any trends identified; 
and 
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(D) legislative and administrative rec-
ommendations with respect to solving or alle-
viating identified difficulties. 
(c) ANNUAL
APPEARANCE
BEFORE
THE
CON-
GRESS.—The Director shall appear before the House 
Committee on Financial Services at an annual hearing, 
after the report is submitted under subsection (a)— 
(1) to discuss the efforts, activities, objectives 
and plans of the Agency; and 
(2) discuss and answer questions concerning 
such report. 
SEC. 4109. FUNDING; FEES AND ASSESSMENTS; PENALTIES 
AND FINES. 
(a) TRANSFER OF FUNDS FROM THE BOARD OF 
GOVERNORS.— 
(1) TRANSFER REQUIRED.—Each year, begin-
ning on the designated transfer date, the Board of 
Governors shall transfer funds in an amount equal-
ing 10 percent of the Federal Reserve System’s total 
system expenses (as reported in the Budget Review 
of the Board of Governors most recent Annual Re-
port to Congress) to the Director for the purposes 
of carrying out the authorities granted in this title, 
under the enumerated consumer laws, and trans-
ferred under subtitles F and H. 
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(2) PROCEDURES.—The Board of Governors, in 
consultation with the Agency, shall make appro-
priate arrangements to transfer funds to the Direc-
tor in accordance with this subsection. 
(b) FEES AND ASSESSMENTS.— 
(1) ASSESSMENT REQUIRED.— 
(A) IN
GENERAL.—Taking into account 
such other sums available to the Agency and 
subject to the provisions of this subsection and 
subsection (d), the Director shall assess fees on 
covered persons to meet the Agency’s expenses 
for carrying out the duties and responsibilities 
of the Agency, including supervising such cov-
ered persons. 
(B) BASIS FOR ASSESSMENT.—The Agency 
shall assess fees on covered persons pursuant to 
this subsection based on the size and complexity 
of the covered person, and the compliance 
record of the covered person under the enumer-
ated consumer laws, the laws and authorities 
transferred under subtitles F and H, and this 
title. 
(2) REGULATIONS.— 
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(A) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall pre-
scribe regulations to govern the imposition and 
collection of fees and assessments. 
(B) FACTORS
REQUIRED
TO
BE
AD-
DRESSED.—Regulations prescribed by the Di-
rector under this subsection shall specify and 
define— 
(i) the basis of fees or assessments 
(such as the outstanding number of con-
sumer credit accounts, off-balance sheet re-
ceivables attributable to the covered per-
son, total consolidated assets, total assets 
under management, or volume of consumer 
financial transactions or use of service pro-
viders); 
(ii) the amount and frequency of fees 
or assessments; and 
(iii) such other factors that the Direc-
tor determines are appropriate, which shall 
include a covered person’s compliance 
record under the enumerated consumer 
laws, the authorities transferred under 
subtitles F and H, and this title. 
(3) ASSESSMENTS
ON
DEPOSITORY
INSTITU-
TION COVERED PERSONS.— 
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(A) DEPOSITORY
INSTITUTION
COVERED 
PERSON DEFINED.—For purposes of this sec-
tion, the term ‘‘depository institution covered 
person’’ means a covered person that is an in-
sured depository institution or credit union. 
(B) ASSESSMENTS.— 
(i) FEES
REQUIRED.—The Director 
shall assess fees for supervision as are ap-
propriate on depository institution covered 
persons, taking into account the size and 
complexity of the covered person, and the 
compliance record of the covered person 
under the enumerated consumer laws, the 
laws and authorities transferred under 
subtitles F and H, and this title. 
(ii) LIMITATION ON CERTAIN FEES.— 
The Agency shall not assess examination 
fees on an institution referred to in section 
4203(a), or an institution whose examina-
tion responsibilities have been delegated to 
an appropriate agency, pursuant to section 
4202(c)(11). 
(iii) BASIS FOR FEE AMOUNTS.—Fees 
assessed by the Director under this sub-
paragraph may be established at levels nec-
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essary to meet the Agency’s expenses for 
carrying out the duties and responsibilities 
of the Director and the Agency under this 
title with regard to depository institution 
covered persons. 
(C) COORDINATION DURING IMPLEMENTA-
TION PERIOD.—The Director and the agencies 
responsible for chartering and or supervising 
depository institution covered persons shall co-
ordinate on the levels of fees assessed on depos-
itory institution covered persons under this 
paragraph, so that levels of assessments under 
this subparagraph combined with levels of as-
sessments by agencies responsible for chartering 
and or supervising depository institution cov-
ered persons shall be no more than the assess-
ments such depository institution covered per-
son was required to pay for the 12-month pe-
riod ending on December 31, 2009. 
(D) MARGINAL ASSESSMENT RATE.— 
(i) IN GENERAL.—In setting assess-
ment rates for depository institution cov-
ered persons, the Director shall not impose 
assessments that result in higher marginal 
assessment rates for depository institution 
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covered persons with assets of less than 
$25,000,000,000 than the marginal rates 
for depository institutions covered persons 
with assets that exceed that amount. 
(ii) 
RULE
OF
CONSTRUCTION.— 
Clause (i) shall not be construed as lim-
iting or impairing the authority of the Di-
rector to set assessments that would result 
in higher marginal assessment rates on the 
larger depository institution covered per-
sons. 
(E) LIMITATIONS ON ASSESSMENTS.— 
(i) ASSESSMENTS
FOR
ADMINISTRA-
TIVE COSTS.—Notwithstanding any provi-
sion in this title, no depository institution 
covered person shall be charged an assess-
ment to be used for the supervision, exam-
ination, enforcement or regulation by the 
Agency of nondepository covered persons. 
(ii) AMOUNTS
PAID
FOR
CONSUMER 
COMPLIANCE
SUPERVISION.—Notwith-
standing any provision in this title, no de-
pository institution covered person shall 
pay more for consumer compliance super-
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vision than it paid before the date of en-
actment of this title. 
(4) ASSESSMENTS
ON
NONDEPOSITORY
COV-
ERED PERSONS.— 
(A) NONDEPOSITORY
COVERED
PERSON 
DEFINED.—For purposes of this section, the 
term ‘‘nondepository covered person’’— 
(i) means a covered person that is not 
a credit union or insured depository insti-
tution; and 
(ii) includes any bank holding com-
pany. 
(B) ASSESSMENTS.— 
(i) FEES
REQUIRED.—The Director 
shall assess fees for registration, examina-
tion, and supervision of nondepository cov-
ered persons. 
(ii) BASIS FOR FEE AMOUNTS.—Fees 
assessed by the Director under this sub-
paragraph may be established at levels nec-
essary to meet the Agency’s expenses for 
carrying out the duties and responsibilities 
of the Director and the Agency, including 
supervising such covered persons, taking 
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into account such other sums available to 
the Agency. 
(iii) REGISTRATION FEE MINIMUMS.— 
Registration fees imposed on a nondeposi-
tory covered person under this paragraph 
shall, at a minimum, be imposed on such 
covered person at the time the person reg-
isters (or periodically renews any such reg-
istration) with the Agency, in accordance 
with regulations prescribed by the Direc-
tor. 
(C) NONDEPOSITORY
COVERED
PERSON 
ASSESSMENT NOT LESS THAN FOR DEPOSITORY 
COVERED
PERSONS.—Assessment rates levied 
by the Director under this section on a non-
depository institution covered persons shall be 
no less than assessments levied by the Agency 
under this section on a depository institution 
covered person with similar characteristics. 
(c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—For the purposes of carrying 
out the authorities granted in this title, under the 
enumerated consumer laws, and the laws and au-
thorities transferred under subtitles F and H, there 
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are authorized to be appropriated to the Director 
such sums as may be necessary for any fiscal year. 
(2) APPORTIONMENT.—Notwithstanding any 
other provision of law, such amounts shall be subject 
to apportionment under section 1517 of title 31, 
United States Code, and restrictions that generally 
apply to the use of appropriated funds in title 31, 
United States Code, and other laws. 
(3) OTHER AVAILABLE FUNDS TAKEN INTO AC-
COUNT.—Sums appropriated under this subsection 
shall take into account such other sums available to 
the Agency under this section. 
(d) CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION AGENCY 
DEPOSITORY INSTITUTION FUND.— 
(1) ESTABLISHMENT.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—There is established in 
the Treasury a separate fund to be known as 
the ‘‘Consumer Financial Protection Agency 
Depository Institution Fund’’ (hereafter in this 
section referred to as the ‘‘CFPA Depository 
Fund’’). 
(B) AMOUNTS IN FUND NOT AVAILABLE 
FOR CERTAIN PURPOSES.—Other than pursuant 
to subsection (f), amounts on deposit in the 
CFPA Depository Fund shall not be used in the 
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supervision and examination of nondepository 
institution covered persons. 
(2) ALL TRANSFERRED FUNDS DEPOSITED.— 
All amounts transferred to the Agency under sub-
section (a) shall be deposited into the CFPA Deposi-
tory Fund. 
(3) ALL APPLICABLE SUPERVISORY FEES AND 
ASSESSMENTS DEPOSITED.—The Director shall de-
posit all amounts received from assessments under 
subsection (b)(3) in the CFPA Depository Fund. 
(e) CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION AGENCY 
NONDEPOSITORY INSTITUTION FUND.— 
(1) ESTABLISHMENT.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—There is established in 
the Treasury a separate fund called the Con-
sumer Financial Protection Agency Nondeposi-
tory Institution Fund (hereafter in this section 
referred to as the ‘‘CFPA Nondepository 
Fund’’). 
(B) AMOUNTS IN FUND NOT AVAILABLE 
FOR CERTAIN PURPOSES.—Other than pursuant 
to subsection (f), amounts on deposit in the 
CFPA Nondepository Fund shall not be used 
for the supervision and examination of deposi-
tory institution covered persons. 
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(2) ALL APPLICABLE SUPERVISORY FEES AND 
ASSESSMENTS DEPOSITED.—The Director shall de-
posit all amounts received from assessments under 
subsection (b)(4) in the CFPA Nondepository Fund. 
(f) GENERAL PROVISIONS RELATING TO FUNDS.— 
(1) MAINTENANCE OF FUNDS.— 
(A) AGENCY
FUNDS
MAINTAINED
BY 
TREASURY.—The Consumer Financial Protec-
tion Agency Depository Institution Fund estab-
lished under subsection (d) and the Consumer 
Financial Protection Agency Nondepository In-
stitution Fund established under subsection (e) 
shall each be— 
(i) maintained and administered by 
the Secretary; and 
(ii) maintained separately and not 
commingled. 
(B) AGENCY’S AUTHORITY.—Any provision 
of this title forbidding the commingling or use 
of the CFPA Depository Fund and the CFPA 
Nondepository Fund shall not be construed as 
limiting or impairing the authority of the Agen-
cy to use the same facilities and resources in 
the course of conducting supervisory and regu-
latory functions with respect to depository insti-
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tutions and nondepository institutions, or to in-
tegrate such functions. 
(C) ACCOUNTING REQUIREMENTS.— 
(i) ACCOUNTING FOR USE OF FACILI-
TIES AND RESOURCES.—The Agency shall 
keep a full and complete accounting of all 
costs and expenses associated with the use 
of any facility or resource used in the 
course of any function specified in sub-
paragraph (B) and shall allocate, in the 
manner provided in subparagraph (D), any 
such costs and expenses incurred by the 
Agency— 
(I) with respect to depository in-
stitution covered persons, to the 
CFPA Depository Fund; and 
(II) with respect to nondepository 
covered persons, to the CFPA Non-
depository fund. 
(D) ALLOCATION OF ADMINISTRATIVE EX-
PENSES.—Any personnel, administrative, or 
other overhead expense of the Agency shall be 
allocated— 
(i) fully to the CFPA Depository 
Fund if the expense was incurred directly 
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bears to the aggregate assets of all 
covered persons; and 
(II) the aggregate assets of all 
nondepository covered persons bears 
to the aggregate assets of all covered 
persons. 
(E) AGENCY FUND.—The ‘‘Agency fund’’ 
means the Consumer Financial Protection 
Agency Depository Institution Fund established 
under subsection (d), and, the Consumer Fi-
nancial Protection Agency Nondepository Insti-
tution Fund established under subsection (e), 
and the Consumer Financial Protection Agency 
Civil Penalty Fund established under subsection 
(g). 
(2) INVESTMENT.— 
(A) AMOUNTS
IN
FUNDS
MAY
BE
IN-
VESTED.—The Director may request the Sec-
retary to invest the portion of any Agency fund 
that, in the Director’s judgment, is not required 
to meet the current needs of such fund. 
(B) 
ELIGIBLE
INVESTMENTS.—Invest-
ments pursuant to subparagraph (A) shall be 
made by the Secretary in obligations of the 
United States or obligations that are guaran-
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teed as to principal and interest by the United 
States, with maturities suitable to the needs of 
the Agency fund involved, as determined by the 
Director. 
(C) INTEREST
AND
PROCEEDS
CRED-
ITED.—The interest on, and the proceeds from 
the sale or redemption of, any obligations held 
in the respective Agency Fund shall be credited 
to and form a part of the respective Agency 
Fund. 
(3) USE OF FUNDS.—Funds obtained by, trans-
ferred to, or credited to any Agency fund shall be 
immediately available to the Agency, and remain 
available until expended, to pay the expenses of the 
Agency in carrying out the duties and responsibil-
ities of the Director and the Agency, including the 
payment of compensation of the Director and offi-
cers and employees of the Agency. 
(2) FEES, ASSESSMENTS
AND
OTHER
FUNDS 
NOT GOVERNMENT FUNDS.—Funds obtained by or 
transferred to any Agency fund shall not be con-
strued to be Government funds or appropriated 
monies. 
(3) AMOUNTS
NOT
SUBJECT
TO
APPORTION-
MENT.—Notwithstanding any other provision of law, 
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amounts in any Agency fund shall not be subject to 
apportionment for purposes of chapter 15 of title 31, 
United States Code, or under any other authority. 
(g) PENALTIES AND FINES.— 
(1) 
ESTABLISHMENT
OF
VICTIMS
RELIEF 
FUND.—There is established in the Treasury of the 
United States a fund to be known as the ‘‘Consumer 
Financial Protection Agency Civil Penalty Fund’’ 
(hereafter in this section referred to as the ‘‘Civil 
Penalty Fund’’). 
(2) DEPOSITS.—If the Agency obtains a civil 
penalty against any person in any judicial or admin-
istrative action under this title, any law or authority 
transferred under subtitles F and H, or any enumer-
ated consumer law, the Agency shall deposit into the 
Civil Penalty Fund the amount of the penalty col-
lected. 
(3) PAYMENT
TO
VICTIMS.—Amounts in the 
Civil Penalty Fund shall be available to the Director, 
without fiscal year limitation, for payments to the 
victims of activities for which civil penalties have 
been imposed under this title, the law and authori-
ties transferred under subtitles F and H, or any 
enumerated consumer law. 
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SEC. 4110. AMENDMENTS RELATING TO OTHER ADMINIS-
TRATIVE PROVISIONS. 
(a) ACT OF OCTOBER 28, 1974.—Section 111 of 
Public Law 93–495 (12 U.S.C. 250) is amended by insert-
ing ‘‘the Consumer Financial Protection Agency,’’ after 
‘‘Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation,’’. 
(b) PAPERWORK REDUCTION ACT.—Section 2(5) of 
the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3502(5)) by in-
serting ‘‘the Consumer Financial Protection Agency,’’ 
after ‘‘the Securities and Exchange Commission,’’. 
SEC. 4111. EFFECTIVE DATE. 
This subtitle shall take effect on the date of the en-
actment of this title. 
Subtitle B—General Powers of the 
Director and Agency 
SEC. 4201. MANDATE AND OBJECTIVES. 
(a) MANDATE.—The Director shall seek to promote 
transparency, simplicity, fairness, accountability, and 
equal access in the market for consumer financial products 
or services. 
(b) OBJECTIVES.—The Director may exercise the au-
thorities granted in this title, in the enumerated consumer 
laws, and transferred under subtitles F and H for the pur-
poses of ensuring that, with respect to consumer financial 
products or services— 
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(1) consumers have and can use the informa-
tion they need to make responsible decisions about 
consumer financial products or services; 
(2) consumers are protected from abuse, unfair-
ness, deception, and discrimination; 
(3) markets for consumer financial products or 
services operate fairly and efficiently with ample 
room for sustainable growth and innovation; and 
(4) traditionally underserved consumers and 
communities have equal access to responsible finan-
cial services. 
SEC. 4202. AUTHORITIES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Director may exercise the au-
thorities granted in this title, in the enumerated consumer 
laws, and transferred under subtitles F and H, to admin-
ister, enforce, and otherwise implement the provisions of 
this title, the authorities transferred in subtitles F and 
H, and the enumerated consumer laws. 
(b) RULEMAKING, ORDERS, AND GUIDANCE.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Director may prescribe 
regulations and issue orders and guidance as may be 
necessary or appropriate to enable it to administer 
and carry out the purposes and objectives of this 
title, the authorities transferred under subtitles F 
and H, and the enumerated consumer laws, and to 
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prevent evasions of this title, any such authority, 
and any such law. 
(2) STANDARDS
FOR
RULEMAKING.—In pre-
scribing a regulation under this title or pursuant to 
the authorities transferred under subtitles F and H 
or the enumerated consumer laws, the Director 
shall— 
(A) consider the potential benefits and 
costs to consumers and covered persons, includ-
ing the potential reduction of consumers’ access 
to consumer financial products or services, re-
sulting from such regulation; and 
(B) consult with the Federal banking agen-
cies, State bank supervisors, the Federal Trade 
Commission, or other Federal agencies, as ap-
propriate, regarding the consistency of a pro-
posed regulation with prudential, consumer pro-
tection, civil rights, market, or systemic objec-
tives administered by such agencies or super-
visors. 
(3) EXEMPTIONS.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—The Director, by regu-
lation or order, may conditionally or uncondi-
tionally exempt any covered person, service pro-
vider, or any consumer financial product or 
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service or any class of covered persons, class of 
service providers, or consumer financial prod-
ucts or services, from any provision of this title, 
any enumerated consumer law, or from any reg-
ulation under any such provision or law, as the 
Director deems necessary or appropriate to 
carry out the purposes and objectives of this 
title taking into consideration the factors in 
subparagraph (B). 
(B) FACTORS.—In issuing an exemption 
by regulation or order as permitted in subpara-
graph (A), the Director shall as appropriate 
take into consideration the following: 
(i) The total assets of the covered per-
son. 
(ii) The volume of transactions involv-
ing consumer financial products or services 
in which the covered person engages. 
(iii) The extent to which the covered 
person engages in 1 or more financial ac-
tivities. 
(iv) Existing laws or regulations which 
are applicable to the consumer financial 
product or service and the extent to which 
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such laws or regulations provide consumers 
with adequate protections. 
(C) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—No provi-
sion of this section shall be construed as alter-
ing, amending, or affecting any authority under 
sections 304(a), 304(i), 305(a), and 306(b) of 
the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act of 1975 and 
sections 
703(a)(1), 
703(a)(2), 
703(a)(3), 
705(f), and 705(g) of the Equal Credit Oppor-
tunity Act for determining whether a covered 
person should be provided an exemption. 
(c) EXAMINATIONS AND REPORTS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided under 
section 4203, the Director may on a periodic basis 
examine a covered person or service provider, with 
respect to any consumer financial product or service, 
for purposes of ensuring compliance with the re-
quirements of this title, the enumerated consumer 
laws, and any regulations prescribed by the Director 
under this title or pursuant to the authorities trans-
ferred under subtitles F and H, and enforcing com-
pliance with such requirements. 
(2) EXAMINATION
PROGRAM.—The Director 
shall exercise any authority of the Director under 
paragraph (1) in a manner designed to ensure that 
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such authorities are exercised with respect to cov-
ered persons or service providers, without regard to 
charter or corporate form, based on the Director’s 
assessment of the risks posed to consumers in the 
relevant product markets and geographic markets, 
and taking into consideration, as applicable, the fol-
lowing factors: 
(A) The asset size of the covered persons. 
(B) The volume of transactions involving 
consumer financial products or services in 
which the covered persons engage. 
(C) The risks to consumers created by the 
provision of such consumer financial products 
or services. 
(D) In the case of State-chartered institu-
tions, the extent to which such institutions are 
subject to oversight by State authorities for 
consumer protection. 
(3) COORDINATION.—The Director shall coordi-
nate the Agency’s supervisory activities with the su-
pervisory activities conducted by the Federal bank-
ing agencies and the State bank supervisors, includ-
ing establishing their respective schedules for exam-
ining covered persons and requirements regarding 
reports to be submitted by covered persons. 
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(4) REPORTS.—The Director may require re-
ports from a covered person for purposes of ensuring 
compliance with the requirements of this title, the 
enumerated consumers laws, and any regulation pre-
scribed by the Director under this title or pursuant 
to the authorities transferred under subtitles F and 
H, and enforcing compliance with such require-
ments. 
(5) CONTENT OF REPORTS.—The reports au-
thorized in paragraph (4) may include such informa-
tion as necessary to keep the Agency informed as 
to— 
(A) the compliance systems or procedures 
of the covered person or any affiliate thereof, 
with applicable provisions of this title or any 
other law that the Agency has jurisdiction to 
enforce; and 
(B) matters related to the provision of con-
sumer financial products or services including 
the servicing or maintenance of accounts or ex-
tensions of credit. 
(6) USE OF EXISTING REPORTS.—In general, 
the Agency shall, to the fullest extent possible, use— 
(A) reports that a covered person, or any 
affiliate thereof, or any service provider to such 
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covered person or affiliate, has provided or been 
required to provide to a Federal or State agen-
cy; and 
(B) information that has been reported 
publicly. 
(7) ACCESS BY THE AGENCY TO REPORTS OF 
OTHER REGULATORS.— 
(A) EXAMINATION AND FINANCIAL CONDI-
TION REPORTS.—Upon providing reasonable as-
surances of confidentiality, the Agency shall 
have access to any report of examination or fi-
nancial condition, including a report containing 
data regarding consumer complaints, made by a 
Federal banking agency or other Federal agen-
cy having supervision of a covered person, or a 
service provider, (other than returns and return 
information described in section 6103 of the In-
ternal Revenue Code of 1986) and to all revi-
sions made to any such report. 
(B) PROVISION
OF
OTHER
REPORTS
TO 
AGENCY.—In addition to the reports described 
in subparagraph (A), a Federal banking agency 
may, in its discretion, furnish to the Agency 
any other report or other confidential super-
visory information concerning any insured de-
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pository institution, any credit union, or other 
entity examined by such agency under authority 
of any Federal law. 
(8) ACCESS
BY
OTHER
REGULATORS
TO
RE-
PORTS OF THE AGENCY.— 
(A) EXAMINATION
REPORTS.—Upon pro-
viding reasonable assurances of confidentiality, 
a Federal banking agency, a State regulator, or 
any other Federal agency having supervision of 
a covered person shall have access to any report 
of examination made by the Agency with re-
spect to the covered person or service provider, 
and to all revisions made to any such report. 
(B) PROVISION
OF
OTHER
REPORTS
TO 
OTHER REGULATORS.—In addition to the re-
ports described in paragraph (A), the Agency 
may, in the discretion of the Agency, furnish to 
a Federal banking agency any other report or 
other confidential supervisory information con-
cerning any insured depository institution, any 
credit union, or other entity examined by the 
Agency under authority of any Federal law. 
(9) PRESERVATION OF AUTHORITY.—No provi-
sion in paragraph (3) shall be construed as pre-
venting the Agency from conducting an examination 
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authorized by this title or under the authorities 
transferred under subtitles F and H or pursuant to 
any enumerated consumer law. No provision of this 
title shall be construed as limiting the authority of 
the Director to require reports from a covered per-
son, as permitted under paragraph (4), regarding in-
formation owned or under the control of the covered 
person, regardless of whether such information is 
maintained, stored, or processed by another person. 
(10) REPORTS
OF
TAX
LAW
NONCOMPLI-
ANCE.—The Director shall provide the Commis-
sioner of Internal Revenue with any report of exam-
ination or related information identifying possible 
tax law noncompliance. 
(11) DELEGATION.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—The Director may dele-
gate the examination authorities of the Agency 
under this title to any appropriate agency, as 
defined in section 4203, for any insured deposi-
tory institution or insured credit union that is 
not subject to section 4203 upon a petition by 
an appropriate agency. 
(B) STANDARD
FOR
DELEGATION.—The 
Director shall provide such delegation if, in the 
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Director’s sole discretion, the Director deter-
mines that— 
(i) the delegation is consistent with 
the public interest; 
(ii) the appropriate agency is capable 
of enforcing compliance with this title, and 
with any regulation prescribed under this 
title; and 
(iii) such capability is comparable to 
or superior to the capability of the Agency, 
in terms of expertise, demonstrated com-
mitment, and overall effectiveness, in en-
forcing such compliance. 
(C) EFFECT
OF
DELEGATION.—The in-
sured depository institution or insured credit 
union shall be subject to the examination proc-
ess described in section 4203(b). 
(D) NO EFFECT ON ENFORCEMENT.—The 
Director’s delegation authority under this para-
graph shall not apply to the Director’s enforce-
ment responsibilities under subsection (e). 
(d) EXCLUSIVE RULEMAKING
AND EXAMINATION 
AUTHORITY.—Notwithstanding any other provision of 
Federal law other than section 4203 and subsections (f) 
and (h) of this section, to the extent that a Federal law 
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authorizes the Director and another Federal agency to 
prescribe regulations, issue guidance, conduct examina-
tions, or require reports under that law for purposes of 
assuring compliance with this title, any enumerated con-
sumer law, the laws for which authorities were transferred 
under subtitles F and H, and any regulations prescribed 
under this title or pursuant to any such authority, the Di-
rector shall have the exclusive authority to prescribe regu-
lations, issue guidance, conduct examinations, require re-
ports, or issue exemptions with regard to any person sub-
ject to that law and with respect to any activity regulated 
under any enumerated consumer law. 
(e) PRIMARY ENFORCEMENT AUTHORITY.— 
(1) THE AGENCY TO HAVE PRIMARY ENFORCE-
MENT AUTHORITY.—To the extent that a Federal 
law authorizes the Agency and another Federal 
agency to enforce that law, the Agency shall have 
primary authority to enforce that Federal law with 
respect to any person in accordance with this sub-
section. 
(2) COORDINATION
WITH
FEDERAL
TRADE 
COMMISSION.— 
(A) NOTICE.—If the Commission is au-
thorized to enforce any Federal law described in 
paragraph (1), or a regulation prescribed under 
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any such Federal law, the Commission shall 
serve written notice to the Director of any en-
forcement action at least 30 days prior to initi-
ating such an enforcement action, except that if 
exigent circumstances are present, the Commis-
sion may provide notice immediately upon initi-
ating such enforcement action. 
(B) INTERVENTION BY THE DIRECTOR.— 
Upon receiving any notice under subparagraph 
(A) with respect to an enforcement action, the 
Director may intervene in such enforcement ac-
tion and upon intervening— 
(i) be heard on all matters arising in 
such enforcement action; and 
(ii) file petitions for appeal in such 
enforcement action. 
(C) PENDENCY
OF
AGENCY
ACTION.— 
Whenever a civil action has been instituted by 
or on behalf of the Agency for any violation of 
any Federal law described in paragraph (1), or 
a regulation prescribed under any such Federal 
law, the Commission may not, during the pend-
ency of that action instituted by or on behalf of 
the Agency, institute a civil action under such 
law or regulation against any defendant named 
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in the Agency complaint in such action for any 
violation alleged in the Agency complaint. 
(D) AGREEMENTS BETWEEN AGENCIES.— 
(i) 
NEGOTIATIONS
AUTHORIZED.— 
The Director may negotiate an agreement 
with the Commission to establish proce-
dures to ensure that the enforcement ac-
tions of the 2 agencies are appropriately 
coordinated. 
(ii) SCOPE
OF
NEGOTIATED
AGREE-
MENT.—The terms of any agreement nego-
tiated pursuant to clause (i) may modify or 
supersede the provisions of subparagraphs 
(A), (B), and (C). 
(3) COORDINATION
WITH
OTHER
FEDERAL 
AGENCY.— 
(A) 
REFERRAL.—Any 
Federal 
agency 
(other than the Federal Trade Commission) 
that is authorized to enforce a Federal law de-
scribed in paragraph (1) may recommend in 
writing to the Director that the Agency initiate 
an enforcement proceeding to the extent the 
Agency is authorized by that Federal law or by 
this title. The recommendation shall be accom-
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panied by a written explanation of the concerns 
giving rise to the recommendation. 
(B) BACKSTOP ENFORCEMENT AUTHORITY 
OF OTHER FEDERAL AGENCY.—If the Agency 
does not, before the end of the 120-day period 
beginning on the date on which the Director re-
ceives a recommendation under subparagraph 
(A), initiate an enforcement proceeding, the 
other agency referred to in subparagraph (A) 
may initiate an enforcement proceeding as per-
mitted by that Federal law. 
(4) INSTITUTIONS SUBJECT TO SPECIAL EXAM-
INATION
AND
ENFORCEMENT
PROCEDURES.—This 
subsection shall not apply to institutions subject to 
section 4203. 
(f) PRESERVATION OF OTHER AUTHORITY.— 
(1) ATTORNEY GENERAL.—No provision of this 
title shall be construed as affecting any authority of 
the Attorney General. 
(2) SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY.—No provi-
sion of this title shall be construed as affecting any 
authority of the Secretary of the Treasury, including 
with respect to prescribing regulations, initiating en-
forcement proceedings, or taking other actions with 
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respect to a person providing tax planning or tax 
preparation services. 
(3) FAIR HOUSING ACT.—No provision of this 
title shall be construed as affecting any authority 
arising under the Fair Housing Act. 
(g) EFFECT ON OTHER AUTHORITY.—No provision 
of this section or section 4203 shall be construed as modi-
fying or limiting the authority of any appropriate Federal 
banking agency or the Director or Agency to interpret, 
or take enforcement action under, any law or regulation 
the interpretation or enforcement of which is committed 
to the banking agency or the Director or Agency, which 
shall include, in the case of the Director and the Agency, 
this title, the enumerated consumer laws, and the regula-
tions prescribed under this title or such laws. 
(h) PRESERVATION OF FEDERAL TRADE COMMIS-
SION AUTHORITY.—No provision of this title shall be con-
strued as modifying, limiting, or otherwise affecting the 
authority of the Federal Trade Commission under the 
Federal Trade Commission Act or other laws other than 
the enumerated consumer laws. 
SEC. 4203. EXAMINATION AND ENFORCEMENT FOR SMALL 
BANKS, THRIFTS, AND CREDIT UNIONS. 
(a) SCOPE OF INSTITUTIONS SUBJECT TO THIS SEC-
TION.— 
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(1) INSTITUTIONS
COVERED.—This section 
shall apply to— 
(A) any insured depository institution with 
total assets of $10,000,000,000 or less; or 
(B) any insured credit union with total as-
sets of $1,500,000,000 or less. 
(2) APPROPRIATE
AGENCY.—For purposes of 
this title, the term ‘‘appropriate agency’’ means— 
(A) in the case of an insured depository in-
stitution, the appropriate Federal banking 
agency as such term is defined in section 3 of 
the Federal Deposit Insurance Act; and 
(B) in the case of an insured credit union, 
the National Credit Union Administration. 
(b) EXAMINATIONS.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—The appropriate agency 
shall on a periodic basis examine, or require reports 
from, an institution referred to in subsection (a) for 
purposes of ensuring compliance with the require-
ments of this title, the enumerated consumer laws, 
and any regulation prescribed by the Director under 
this title or pursuant to the authorities transferred 
under subtitles F and H, and enforcing compliance 
with such requirements. 
(2) AGENCY ROLE IN EXAMINATIONS.— 
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(A) The appropriate agency shall provide 
all reports, records, and documentation related 
to the examination process to the Agency on a 
timely and ongoing basis. 
(B) The Director and Agency may, at its 
discretion, include an examiner on any examina-
tion conducted under paragraph (1). The ap-
propriate agency shall involve such Agency ex-
aminer in the entire examination process, in-
cluding setting the scope of an examination, 
participating in the examination, and providing 
input on the examination report, matters re-
quiring attention and examination ratings. 
(c) ENFORCEMENT.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 
provision of this title other than this subsection, the 
appropriate agency shall have primary authority to 
enforce violations identified at institutions referred 
to in subsection (a) of any of the requirements of 
this title, the enumerated consumers laws, and any 
regulation prescribed by the Director under this title 
or pursuant to the authorities transferred under 
subtitles F and H. 
(2) COORDINATION WITH APPROPRIATE AGEN-
CY.— 
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(A) REFERRAL.— 
(i) IN
GENERAL.—The Agency may 
recommend in writing to the appropriate 
agency that the appropriate agency initiate 
an enforcement proceeding to the extent 
the appropriate agency is authorized by 
that Federal law or by this title. 
(ii) 
EXPLANATION.—Any 
rec-
ommendation under clause (i) shall be ac-
companied by a written explanation of the 
concerns giving rise to the recommenda-
tion. 
(B) BACKSTOP ENFORCEMENT AUTHORITY 
OF AGENCY.—If the appropriate agency does 
not, before the end of the 120-day period begin-
ning on the date on which the appropriate 
agency receives a recommendation under sub-
paragraph (A), initiate an enforcement pro-
ceeding, the Agency may initiate an enforce-
ment proceeding as permitted by Federal law. 
(d) ACTIONS ARISING OUT
OF CONSUMER COM-
PLAINT SYSTEM.—Notwithstanding any provision of this 
section, if through the consumer complaint system admin-
istered by the Agency under section 4105(c)(3), the Direc-
tor has reasonable cause to believe that an institution re-
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ferred to in subsection (a) demonstrates noncompliance 
with any provision of this title, the enumerated consumer 
laws, or any regulation prescribed by the Director under 
this title or pursuant to the authorities transferred under 
subtitles F and H, the Director may directly investigate 
such institution for such noncompliance and take any ac-
tion permitted under subtitle E that the Director deems 
appropriate. 
(e) REMOVAL OF APPROPRIATE AGENCY FOR PAR-
TICULAR INSTITUTION.— 
(1) HEIGHTENED
SUPERVISION.—The Direc-
tor— 
(A) may provide notice to an appropriate 
agency that the Director is considering issuing 
a removal order under paragraph (2); and 
(B) shall have an Agency examiner partici-
pate in the examination process under sub-
section (b) for at least 1 examination cycle. 
(2) REMOVAL BY ORDER.—If, after the comple-
tion of at least 1 examination cycle following the 
provision of notice to an appropriate agency under 
paragraph (1), the Director determines in writing 
that the appropriate agency has failed to adequately 
conduct consumer compliance examinations or bring 
appropriate enforcement actions against an institu-
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tion referred to in subsection (a), the Director may 
order the removal of the appropriate agency from its 
responsibilities under this section for such institu-
tion. 
(3) AGENCY
AUTHORITY
UPON
REMOVAL.— 
Upon removal pursuant to paragraph (2), the Agen-
cy shall examine and enforce against such institution 
as if the institution were subject to section 4202. 
(4) EFFECTIVE DATE.—An order under para-
graph (2) shall take effect 30 days after a deter-
mination by the Secretary of the Treasury pursuant 
to paragraphs (5) and (6). 
(5) AUTOMATIC APPEAL.—An order issued by 
the Director pursuant to paragraph (2) shall be 
automatically appealed to the Secretary. 
(6) DECISION
BY
THE
SECRETARY
OF
THE 
TREASURY.— 
(A) DETERMINATION.—The order issued 
pursuant to paragraph (2) shall be deemed af-
firmed unless the Secretary of the Treasury de-
nies the determination of the Director within 
120 days of the issuance of the order pursuant 
to paragraph (2). 
(B) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in 
subparagraph (A) shall be construed as prohib-
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iting the Secretary of the Treasury from mak-
ing a determination to either affirm or deny an 
order issued pursuant to paragraph (2) prior to 
the passage of the time period in subparagraph 
(A). 
(7) REGULATIONS.—By the transfer date, the 
Secretary shall issue regulations that establish the 
standards the Director shall apply in making a de-
termination to remove an appropriate agency and 
the process, procedures, and standards for an ap-
peal. Such standards shall require the Director to 
consider at least the following in issuing an order re-
moving an appropriate agency for an institution re-
ferred to in subsection (a)(1): 
(A) Reports of examination of such institu-
tion. 
(B) Any enforcement actions taken by an 
appropriate agency against such institution and 
the results of those actions. 
(C) Consumer complaints issued against 
such institution. 
(D) Actions taken by State attorneys gen-
eral and private rights of action against such 
institution. 
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(f) POLICIES AND PROCEDURES.—Within 180 days 
after the designated transfer date, the Agency and the ap-
propriate agency shall develop policies and procedures for 
implementing this section. 
(g) ASSESSMENTS.— 
(1) LIMITATION ON CERTAIN FEES.—The Agen-
cy shall not assess examination fees on an institution 
referred to in subsection (a). 
(2) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—No provision of 
this section shall be construed as preventing the ap-
propriate agency from assessing fees on an institu-
tion referred to in paragraph (1) to meet the appro-
priate agency’s expenses for carrying out such exam-
ination and supervision responsibilities pursuant to 
this section. 
SEC. 4204. SIMULTANEOUS AND COORDINATED SUPER-
VISORY ACTION. 
(a) EXAMINATIONS.—A Federal banking agency and 
the Agency shall, with respect to each insured depository 
institution, credit union, or other covered person super-
vised by the Federal banking agency and the Agency, re-
spectively— 
(1) coordinate the scheduling of examinations of 
the insured depository institution, and credit union, 
or other covered person; 
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(2) conduct simultaneous examinations of each 
insured depository institution, credit union or other 
covered person, unless such institution requests ex-
aminations to be conducted separately; 
(3) share each draft report of examination with 
the other agency and permit the receiving agency a 
reasonable opportunity (which shall not be less than 
a period of 30 days after the date of receipt) to com-
ment on the draft report before such report is made 
final; and 
(4) prior to issuing a final report of examina-
tion or taking supervisory action, an agency shall 
take into consideration concerns, if any, raised in 
the comments made by the other agency. 
(b) COORDINATION WITH STATE BANK SUPER-
VISORS.—The Agency shall pursue arrangements and 
agreements with State bank supervisors to coordinate ex-
aminations consistent with subsection (a). 
(c) RESOLUTION OF CONFLICT IN SUPERVISION.— 
(1) REQUEST OF DEPOSITORY INSTITUTION.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—If the proposed mate-
rial supervisory determinations of the Agency 
and a Federal banking agency are conflicting, 
an insured depository institution, credit union, 
or other covered person may request the agen-
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cies to coordinate and present a joint statement 
of coordinated supervisory action. 
(B) LIMITATION.—A request of an insured 
depository institution, credit union, or other 
covered person shall not be used to appeal a su-
pervisory rating or determination by the Agency 
or a Federal banking agency. 
(2) JOINT STATEMENT.—The agencies receiving 
a request from an insured depository institution, 
credit union, or covered person under paragraph (1) 
shall provide a joint statement resolving the conflict 
under such subparagraph before the end of the 30- 
day period beginning on the date the agencies re-
ceive such request. 
(d) APPEALS TO GOVERNING PANEL.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—If the agencies receiving a 
request from an insured depository institution, credit 
union, or covered person under subsection (c)(1) do 
not issue a joint statement under subsection (c)(2), 
or if either agency takes or attempts to take any su-
pervisory action relating to the request for the joint 
statement without the consent of the other agency, 
the insured depository institution, credit union, or 
other covered person may institute an appeal to a 
governing panel under this subsection. 
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(2) TIMETABLE.—Any appeal under paragraph 
(1) with regard to a failure of agencies to issue a 
joint statement shall be filed before the end of the 
30-day period beginning at the end of the 30-day pe-
riod during which such joint statement was due 
under subsection (c)(2). 
(e) COMPOSITION OF GOVERNING PANEL.—The gov-
erning panel for an appeal under this section shall be com-
posed of— 
(1) 2 individuals— 
(A) 1 of whom is a representative from the 
Agency; 
(B) 1 of whom is a representative of the 
Federal banking agency which received the re-
quest to which the appeal relates; and 
(C) neither of whom— 
(i) have participated in the material 
supervisory determinations under appeal; 
and 
(ii) report directly or indirectly to the 
individual who made the supervisory deter-
minations under appeal; and 
(2) 1 individual who is a representative from— 
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(A) the Federal banking agency that heads 
the Financial Institution Examination Council; 
or 
(B) if the Financial Institutions Examina-
tion Council is headed by a Federal banking 
agency that is a party to the appeal, the Fed-
eral banking agency that is next scheduled to 
head the Financial Institutions Examination 
Council. 
(f) CONDUCT OF APPEAL.— 
(1) CONTENT OF FILING APPEAL.—The insured 
depository institution, credit union, or other covered 
person which institutes an appeal under subsection 
(d)(1) shall include in the filing of such appeal all 
the facts and legal arguments pertaining to the mat-
ter appealed. 
(2) APPEARANCE.—The insured depository in-
stitution, credit union, or other covered person which 
institutes an appeal under this section may appear 
before the governing panel in person or by telephone, 
through counsel, employees, or representatives of, or 
for, such institution, credit union, or other covered 
person. 
(3) REQUESTS
FOR
ADDITIONAL
INFORMA-
TION.—Any governing panel convened under this 
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section may request the insured depository institu-
tion, credit union, or other covered person, the 
Agency, or the Federal banking agency to produce 
additional information relevant to the appeal. 
(4) FINAL WRITTEN DETERMINATIONS .—Any 
governing panel convened under this section, by a 
majority vote of the members of the panel, shall pro-
vide a final determination, in writing, within 30 days 
of the filing of an informationally complete appeal, 
or such longer period as the panel and the insured 
depository institution, credit union, or other covered 
person may jointly agree. 
(5) PUBLIC INFORMATION.—A redacted copy of 
any determination by a governing panel convened 
under this section shall be made public upon the 
issuance of such determination. 
(g) PROHIBITION AGAINST RETALIATION.—The Di-
rector and the Federal banking agencies shall prescribe 
regulations to provide safeguards from retaliation against 
any insured depository institution, credit union, or other 
covered person which institutes an appeal under this sec-
tion, as well as against any officer or and employee of any 
such institution, credit union, or other person. 
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(h) MATERIAL SUPERVISORY DETERMINATION DE-
FINED.—For purposes of this section, the term ‘‘material 
supervisory determination’’— 
(1) includes any action relating to any super-
vision or examinations; and 
(2) does not include— 
(A) a determination by any Federal bank-
ing agency to appoint a conservator or receiver 
for an insured depository institution or a liqui-
dating agent for an insured credit union, as the 
case may be, or a decision to take action pursu-
ant to section 38 of the Federal Deposit Insur-
ance Act or section 212 of the Federal Credit 
Union Act, as the case may be; or 
(B) any regulation or guidance, or order of 
general applicability. 
SEC. 4205. LIMITATIONS ON AUTHORITY OF AGENCY AND 
DIRECTOR. 
(a) EXCLUSION FOR MERCHANTS, RETAILERS, AND 
SELLERS OF NONFINANCIAL SERVICES.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any provi-
sion of this title (other than paragraph (4)) and sub-
ject to paragraph (2), the Director and the Agency 
may not exercise any rulemaking, supervisory, en-
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forcement or other authority, including authority to 
order assessments, under this title with respect to— 
(A) credit extended directly by a merchant, 
retailer, or seller of nonfinancial services to a 
consumer, in a case in which the good or service 
being provided is not itself a consumer financial 
product or service, exclusively for the purpose 
of enabling that consumer to purchase goods or 
services directly from the merchant, retailer, or 
seller of nonfinancial services; or 
(B) collection of debt, directly by the mer-
chant, retailer, or seller of nonfinancial services, 
arising from such credit extended. 
(2) EXCEPTION FOR EXISTING AUTHORITY.— 
The Director may exercise any rulemaking authority 
regarding an extension of credit described in para-
graph (1)(A) or the collection of debt arising from 
such extension, as may be authorized by the enumer-
ated consumer laws or any law or authority trans-
ferred under subtitle F or H. 
(3) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—No provision of 
this title shall be construed as modifying, limiting, 
or superseding the authority of the Federal Trade 
Commission or any other agency with respect to 
credit extended, or the collection of debt arising 
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from such extension, directly by a merchant, retailer, 
or seller of nonfinancial services to a consumer ex-
clusively for the purpose of enabling that consumer 
to purchase goods or services directly from the mer-
chant, retailer, or seller of nonfinancial services. 
(4) EXCLUSION NOT APPLICABLE TO CERTAIN 
CREDIT
TRANSACTIONS.—Paragraph (1) shall not 
apply to— 
(A) any credit transaction, including the 
collection of the debt arising from such exten-
sion, in which the merchant, retailer, or seller 
of nonfinancial services assigns, sells, or other-
wise conveys such debt owed by the consumer 
to another person; or 
(B) any credit transaction— 
(i) in which the credit provided sig-
nificantly exceeds the market value of the 
product or service provided, and 
(ii) with respect to which the Director 
finds that the sale of the product or service 
is done as a subterfuge so as to evade or 
circumvent the provisions of this title. 
(b) EXCLUSION FOR PERSONS REGULATED BY THE 
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION.— 
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(1) IN
GENERAL.—No provision of this title 
shall be construed as altering, amending, or affect-
ing the authority of the Securities and Exchange 
Commission or any securities commission (or any 
agency or office performing like functions) of any 
State to adopt rules, initiate enforcement pro-
ceedings, or take any other action with respect to a 
person regulated by the Securities and Exchange 
Commission or any securities commission (or any 
agency or office performing like functions) of any 
State. The Director and Agency shall have no au-
thority to exercise any power to enforce this title 
with respect to a person regulated by the Securities 
and Exchange Commission or any securities commis-
sion (or any agency or office performing like func-
tions) of any State. 
(2) CONSULTATION AND COORDINATION.—Not-
withstanding paragraph (1), the Securities and Ex-
change Commission shall consult and coordinate 
with the Director with respect to any rule (including 
any advance notice of proposed rulemaking) regard-
ing an investment product or service that is the 
same type of product as, or that competes directly 
with, a consumer financial product or service that is 
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subject to the jurisdiction of the Agency under this 
title or under any other law. 
(c) EXCLUSION FOR PERSONS REGULATED BY THE 
COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—No provision of this title 
shall be construed as altering, amending, or affect-
ing the authority of the Commodity Futures Trading 
Commission to adopt rules, initiate enforcement pro-
ceedings, or take any other action with respect to a 
person regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading 
Commission. The Director and the Agency shall 
have no authority to exercise any power to enforce 
this title with respect to a person regulated by the 
Commodity Futures Trading Commission. 
(2) CONSULTATION AND COORDINATION.—Not-
withstanding paragraph (1), the Commodity Futures 
Trading Commission shall consult and coordinate 
with the Director with respect to any rule (including 
any advance notice of proposed rulemaking) regard-
ing a product or service that is the same type of 
product as, or that competes directly with, a con-
sumer financial product or service that is subject to 
the jurisdiction of the Agency under this title or 
under any other law. 
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(d) EXCLUSION
FOR PERSONS REGULATED
BY
A 
STATE INSURANCE REGULATOR.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—No provision of this title 
shall be construed as altering, amending, or affect-
ing the authority of any State insurance regulator to 
adopt rules, initiate enforcement proceedings, or 
take any other action with respect to a person regu-
lated by any State insurance regulator. Except as 
provided in paragraphs (2) and (3), the Agency shall 
have no authority to exercise any power to enforce 
this title with respect to a person regulated by any 
State insurance regulator. 
(2) DESCRIPTION OF ACTIVITIES.—Paragraph 
(1) shall not apply to any person described in such 
paragraph to the extent such person is engaged in 
any financial activity described in any subparagraph 
of section 4002(19) or is otherwise subject to any of 
the enumerated consumer laws or the authorities 
transferred under subtitle F or H. 
(3) PRESERVATION
OF
CERTAIN
AUTHORI-
TIES.—Nothing in this title shall be construed as 
limiting the authority of the Director and the Agen-
cy from exercising powers under this title with re-
spect to the provision by a covered person of a prod-
uct or service, not otherwise subject to this title, for 
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or on behalf of a person regulated by a State insur-
ance regulator, in connection with a financial activ-
ity. 
(e) EXCLUSION FOR PERSONS REGULATED BY THE 
FEDERAL HOUSING FINANCE AGENCY.—No provision of 
this title shall be construed as altering, amending, or af-
fecting the authority of the Federal Housing Finance 
Agency to adopt rules, initiate enforcement proceedings, 
or take any other action with respect to a person regulated 
by the Federal Housing Finance Agency. The Director 
and Agency shall have no authority to exercise any power 
to enforce this title with respect to a person regulated by 
the Federal Housing Agency. For purposes of this sub-
section, the term ‘‘person regulated by the Federal Hous-
ing Finance Agency’’ means any Federal home loan bank, 
and any joint office of 1 or more Federal home loan banks. 
(f) EXCLUSION FOR QUALIFIED RETIREMENT OR EL-
IGIBLE
DEFERRED
COMPENSATION
PLANS
AND
AR-
RANGEMENTS.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—No provision of this title 
shall be construed as altering, amending, or affect-
ing the authority of the Secretary of the Treasury, 
the Secretary of Labor, or the Commissioner of In-
ternal Revenue to adopt regulations, initiate enforce-
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ment proceedings, or take any actions with respect 
to— 
(A) any retirement or eligible deferred 
compensation plan or arrangement qualified 
under or meeting the requirements of section 
401(a), 403(a), 403(b), 457(b), 408 or 408A of 
the Internal Revenue Code; or 
(B) any educational savings arrangement 
under section 529 of such Code. 
(2) LIMITATION ON AGENCY AUTHORITY.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—The Director and the 
Agency may not exercise any power to enforce 
this title with respect to services provided di-
rectly (or indirectly if the services relate to the 
operation of such plan or arrangement) to— 
(i) any retirement or eligible deferred 
compensation plan or arrangement quali-
fied under or meeting the requirements of 
section 401(a), 403(a), 403(b), 457(b), 
408, or 408A of the Internal Revenue 
Code; or 
(ii) any educational savings arrange-
ment under section 529 of such Code. 
(B) SERVICES
DEFINED.—For purposes 
subparagraph (A), the term ‘‘services’’ shall in-
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clude, for example, services for custody and in-
vestment of assets, administration, compliance, 
and participant assistance. 
(g) EXCLUSION
FOR
ACCOUNTANTS, TAX
PRE-
PARERS, AND ATTORNEYS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as permitted in para-
graph (2), the Director and the Agency may not ex-
ercise any rulemaking, supervisory, enforcement or 
other authority, including authority to order assess-
ments, over— 
(A) any person that is a certified public ac-
countant, permitted to practice as a certified 
public accounting firm, or certified or licensed 
for such purpose by a State, or any individual 
who is employed by or holds an ownership inter-
est with respect to a person described in this 
subparagraph when such person is performing 
or offering to perform customary and usual ac-
counting activities, including the provision of 
accounting, tax, advisory, other services that 
are subject to the regulatory authority of a 
state board of accountancy or a federal author-
ity, or other services that are incidental to such 
customary and usual accounting activities, to 
the extent that such incidental services are not 
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offered or provided by the person separate and 
apart from such customary and usual account-
ing activities and are not offered or provided to 
consumers who are not receiving such cus-
tomary and usual accounting activities; 
(B) any person other than a person de-
scribed in subparagraph (A) that performs in-
come tax preparation activities for consumers; 
or 
(C) any individual who is providing legal 
advice or services for which a license to practice 
law is required under the law of the State in 
which the advice or services are provided and 
which are performed within the scope of an at-
torney-client relationship established by an 
agreement, but only to the extent of such legal 
advice or services. 
(2) NO
EXCLUSION
WITH
RESPECT
TO
REG-
ISTRATION OF MOST ATTORNEYS.—Notwithstanding 
paragraph (1), this subsection shall not apply to any 
authority granted to the Director or the Agency 
under section 4209 with respect to a licensed attor-
ney, except to the extent a licensed attorney is solely 
providing legal services in connection with— 
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(A) the preparation and filing of a bank-
ruptcy petition; or 
(B) court proceedings to avoid a fore-
closure. 
(3) DESCRIPTION OF ACTIVITIES.—Paragraph 
(1) shall not apply to— 
(A) any person described in paragraph 
(1)(A) to the extent such person is engaged in 
any activity which is not a customary and usual 
accounting activity described in paragraph 
(1)(A) or incidental thereto but which is a fi-
nancial activity described in any subparagraph 
of section 4002(19); 
(B) any person described in paragraph 
(1)(B) or (1)(C) to the extent such person is 
engaged in any activity which is a financial ac-
tivity described in any subparagraph of section 
4002(19); or 
(C) any person described in paragraph 
(1)(A), (1)(B) or (1)(C) that is otherwise sub-
ject to any of the enumerated consumer laws or 
the authorities transferred under subtitle F or 
H. 
(h) EXCLUSION FOR REAL ESTATE LICENSEES.— 
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(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as permitted in para-
graph (2), the Director and the Agency may not ex-
ercise any rulemaking, supervisory, enforcement or 
other authority, including authority to order assess-
ments, over a person that is licensed or registered as 
a real estate broker, real estate agent, in accordance 
with State law, but only to the extent that such per-
son— 
(A) acts as a real estate agent or broker 
for a buyer, seller, lessor, or lessee of real prop-
erty; 
(B) brings together parties interested in 
the sale, purchase, lease, rental, or exchange of 
real property; 
(C) negotiates, on behalf of any party, any 
portion of a contract relating to the sale, pur-
chase, lease, rental, or exchange of real prop-
erty (other than in connection with providing fi-
nancing with respect to any such transaction); 
(D) engages in any activity for which a 
person engaged in the activity is required to be 
registered or licensed as a real estate agent or 
real estate broker under any applicable law; or 
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(E) offers to engage in any activity, or act 
in any capacity, described in subparagraph (A), 
(B), (C), or (D). 
(2) DESCRIPTION OF ACTIVITIES.—Paragraph 
(1) shall not apply to any person described in such 
paragraph to the extent such person is engaged in 
any financial activity described in any subparagraph 
of section 4002(19) or is otherwise subject to any of 
the enumerated consumer laws or the authorities 
transferred under subtitle F or H. 
(i) EXCLUSION FOR AUTO DEALERS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Director and the Agen-
cy may not exercise any rulemaking, supervisory, en-
forcement or any other authority, including author-
ity to order assessments, over— 
(A) a motor vehicle dealer that is primarily 
engaged in the sale and servicing of motor vehi-
cles, the leasing and servicing of motor vehicles, 
or both; or 
(B) a person that— 
(i) is controlled by, or is under com-
mon control with, one or more motor vehi-
cle dealers; and 
(ii) primarily engages in the extension 
of, or arranging for the extension of, retail 
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credit or retail leases involving motor vehi-
cles, where 90 percent of such extension, 
or arranging for such extension, is made 
with respect to customers of one or more 
motor vehicle dealers that control such per-
son or with which such person is under 
common control. 
(2) CERTAIN FUNCTIONS EXCEPTED.—The pro-
visions of paragraph (1) shall not apply to any per-
son to the extent that person— 
(A) provides consumers with any services 
related to residential mortgages; or 
(B) operates a line of business that in-
volves the extension of retail credit or retail 
leases involving motor vehicles, and in which— 
(i) the extension of retail credit or re-
tail leases is routinely provided directly to 
consumers; and 
(ii) the contract governing such exten-
sion of retail credit or retail leases is not 
routinely assigned to a third party finance 
or leasing source. 
(3) NO IMPACT ON PRIOR AUTHORITY.—Noth-
ing in this subsection shall be construed to modify, 
limit, or supersede the rulemaking or enforcement 
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authority over motor vehicle dealers that could be 
exercised by any Federal department or agency on 
the day prior to the enactment of this title. 
(4) NO TRANSFER OF CERTAIN AUTHORITY.— 
Notwithstanding subtitle F or any other provision of 
law under this title, the consumer financial protec-
tion functions of the Board of Governors and the 
Federal Trade Commission shall not be transferred 
to the Director or the Agency to the extent such 
functions are with respect to a person described 
under paragraph (1). 
(5) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this sub-
section: 
(A) MOTOR VEHICLE.—The term ‘‘motor 
vehicle’’ means any self-propelled vehicle de-
signed for transporting persons or property on 
a street, highway, or other road. 
(B) MOTOR VEHICLE DEALER.—The term 
‘‘motor vehicle dealer’’ means any person resi-
dent in the United States or any territory of 
the United States, and licensed by a State, a 
territory of the United States, or the District of 
Columbia to engage in the sale of motor vehi-
cles. 
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(j) NO AUTHORITY TO IMPOSE USURY LIMIT.—No 
provision of this title shall be construed as conferring au-
thority on the Director or the Agency to establish a usury 
limit applicable to an extension of credit offered or made 
by a covered person to a consumer, unless explicitly au-
thorized by law. 
(k) EXCLUSION
FOR MANUFACTURED HOME RE-
TAILERS AND MODULAR HOME RETAILERS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Director and the Agen-
cy may not exercise any rulemaking, supervisory, en-
forcement or other authority, including authority to 
order assessments, over a person to the extent such 
person— 
(A) acts as an agent or broker for a buyer 
or seller of a manufactured home or a modular 
home; 
(B) facilitates the purchase by a consumer 
of a manufactured home or modular home, by 
negotiating the purchase price or terms of the 
sales contract (other than providing financing 
with respect to such transaction); or 
(C) offers to engage in any activity de-
scribed in subparagraphs (A) or (B). 
(2) DESCRIPTION OF ACTIVITIES.—Paragraph 
(1) shall not apply to any person described in such 
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paragraph to the extent such person is engaged in 
any financial activity described in any subparagraph 
of section 4002(19) or is otherwise subject to any of 
the enumerated consumer laws or the authorities 
transferred under subtitle F or H. 
(3) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this sub-
section: 
(A) MANUFACTURED
HOME.—The term 
‘‘manufactured home’’ has the meaning given 
such term in section 603 of the National Manu-
factured Housing Construction and Safety 
Standards Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5402). 
(B) MODULAR
HOME.—The term ‘‘mod-
ular home’’ means a house built in a factory in 
two or more modules that meet the State or 
local building codes where the house will be lo-
cated and where such modules are transported 
to the building site, installed on foundations, 
and completed. 
SEC. 4206. COLLECTION OF INFORMATION; CONFIDEN-
TIALITY REGULATIONS. 
(a) COLLECTION OF INFORMATION.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—In conducting research on 
the provision of consumer financial products or serv-
ices, the Director shall have the power to gather in-
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formation from time to time regarding the organiza-
tion, business conduct, and practices of covered per-
sons or service providers. 
(2) SPECIFIC AUTHORITY.—In order to gather 
such information, the Director shall have the 
power— 
(A) to gather and compile information; 
(B) to require persons to file with the 
Agency, in such form and within such reason-
able period of time as the Director may pre-
scribe, by regulation or order, annual or special 
reports, or answers in writing to specific ques-
tions, furnishing information the Director may 
require; and 
(C) to make public such information ob-
tained by it under this section as is in the pub-
lic interest in reports or otherwise in the man-
ner best suited for public information and use. 
(b) CONFIDENTIALITY REGULATIONS.—The Director 
shall prescribe regulations regarding the confidential 
treatment of information obtained from persons in connec-
tion with the exercise of any authority of the Agency or 
Director under this title and the enumerated consumer 
laws and the authorities transferred under subtitles F and 
H. 
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(c) PRIVACY CONSIDERATIONS.—In collecting infor-
mation from any person, publicly releasing information 
held by the Agency, or requiring covered persons to pub-
licly report information, the Director and the Agency shall 
take steps to ensure that proprietary, personal or con-
fidential consumer information that are protected from 
public disclosure under section 552(b) or 552a of title 5, 
United States Code, or any other provision of law are not 
made public under this title. 
SEC. 4207. MONITORING; ASSESSMENTS OF SIGNIFICANT 
REGULATIONS; REPORTS. 
(a) MONITORING.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Agency shall monitor 
for risks to consumers in the provision of consumer 
financial products or services, including develop-
ments in markets for such products or services. 
(2) MEANS OF MONITORING.—Such monitoring 
may be conducted by examinations of covered per-
sons or service providers, analysis of reports ob-
tained from covered persons or service providers, as-
sessment of consumer complaints, surveys and inter-
views of covered persons, service providers, and con-
sumers, and review of available databases. 
(3) CONSIDERATIONS.—In allocating the re-
sources of the Agency to perform the monitoring re-
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quired by this section, the Director may consider, 
among other factors— 
(A) likely risks and costs to consumers as-
sociated with buying or using a type of con-
sumer financial product or service; 
(B) consumers’ understanding of the risks 
of a type of consumer financial product or serv-
ice; 
(C) the state of the law that applies to the 
provision of a consumer financial product or 
service, including the extent to which the law is 
likely to adequately protect consumers; 
(D) rates of growth in the provision of a 
consumer financial product or service; 
(E) extent, if any, to which the risks of a 
consumer financial product or service may dis-
proportionately affect traditionally underserved 
consumers, if any; or 
(F) types, number, and other pertinent 
characteristics of covered persons that provide 
the product or service. 
(4) REPORTS.—The Agency shall publish at 
least 1 report of significant findings of the moni-
toring required by paragraph (1) in each calendar 
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year, beginning in the calendar year that is 1 year 
after the designated transfer date. 
(b) ASSESSMENT OF SIGNIFICANT REGULATIONS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Agency shall conduct an 
assessment of each significant regulation prescribed 
or order issued by the Director under this title, 
under the authorities transferred under subtitles F 
and H or pursuant to any enumerated consumer law 
that addresses, among other relevant factors, the ef-
fectiveness of the regulation in meeting the purposes 
and objectives of this title and the specific goals 
stated by the Director. 
(2) BASIS FOR ASSESSMENT.—The assessment 
shall reflect available evidence and any data that the 
Agency reasonably may collect. 
(3) REPORTS.—The Agency shall publish a re-
port of an assessment under this subsection not 
later than 3 years after the effective date of the reg-
ulation or order, unless the Director determines that 
3 years is not sufficient time to study or review the 
impact of the regulation, but in no event shall the 
Agency publish a report of such assessment more 
than 5 years after the effective date of the regula-
tion or order. 
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(4) PUBLIC
COMMENTED
REQUIRED.—Before 
publishing a report of its assessment, the Agency 
shall invite, with sufficient time allotted, public com-
ment on, and may hold public hearings on, rec-
ommendations for modifying, expanding, or elimi-
nating the newly adopted significant regulation or 
order. 
(c) INFORMATION GATHERING.—In conducting any 
monitoring or assessment required by this section, the 
Agency may gather information through a variety of meth-
ods, including by conducting surveys or interviews of con-
sumers. 
SEC. 
4208. 
AUTHORITY 
TO 
RESTRICT 
MANDATORY 
PREDISPUTE ARBITRATION. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Director, by regulation, may 
prohibit or impose conditions or limitations on the use of 
any agreement between a covered person and a consumer 
for a consumer financial product or service providing for 
arbitration of any future dispute between the parties if 
the Director finds that such a prohibition or imposition 
of conditions or limitations are in the public interest and 
for the protection of consumers. 
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Notwithstanding any other 
provision of law, any regulation prescribed by the Director 
under subsection (a) shall apply, consistent with the terms 
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of the regulation, to any agreement between a consumer 
and a covered person entered into after the end of the 
180-day period beginning on the effective date of the regu-
lation, as established by the Director. 
SEC. 4209. REGISTRATION AND SUPERVISION OF NON-
DEPOSITORY COVERED PERSONS. 
(a) RISK-BASED PROGRAMS.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—The Agency shall develop 
risk-based programs to supervise covered persons 
that are not credit unions, depository institutions, or 
persons excluded under section 4205 by prescribing 
registration requirements, reporting requirements, 
and examination standards and procedures. 
(2) BASIS FOR PROGRAMS.—The risk-based su-
pervisory programs established pursuant to para-
graph (1) shall be based on— 
(A) relevant registration and reporting in-
formation about such covered persons, as deter-
mined by the Agency; and 
(B) the Agency’s assessment of risks posed 
to consumers in the relevant geographic mar-
kets and markets for consumer financial prod-
ucts and services. 
(b) REGISTRATION.— 
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(1) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall prescribe 
regulations regarding registration requirements for 
covered persons that are not credit unions or deposi-
tory institutions. 
(2) CONSULTATION WITH STATE AGENCIES.— 
In developing and implementing registration require-
ments under this subsection, the Agency shall con-
sult with State agencies regarding requirements or 
systems for registration (including coordinated or 
combined systems), where appropriate. 
(3) EXCEPTION FOR RELATED PERSONS.—The 
Agency shall not impose requirements regarding the 
registration of a related person. 
(4) REGISTRATION INFORMATION.—Subject to 
regulations prescribed by the Director, the Agency 
shall publicly disclose the registration information 
about a covered person which is not a bank holding 
company, credit union, or depository institution for 
the purposes of facilitating the ability of consumers 
to identify the covered person as registered with the 
Agency. 
(c) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Agency may require re-
ports from covered persons that are not credit 
unions or depository institutions, or service providers 
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thereto, for the purposes of facilitating supervision 
of such covered persons or service providers. 
(2) CONSISTENCY
OF
REPORTING
REQUIRE-
MENTS AND RISK-BASED STANDARDS.—The Agency 
shall impose reporting requirements under this sub-
section that are consistent with the risk-based stand-
ards developed and implemented under this section 
and the registration information pertaining to the 
relevant types or classes of covered persons. 
(3) CONTENTS
OF
REPORTS.—Reporting re-
quirements imposed under this paragraph may in-
clude information regarding— 
(A) the nature of the covered person’s 
business; 
(B) the covered person’s name, legal form, 
ownership and management structure, and re-
lated persons; 
(C) the covered person’s locations of oper-
ation; 
(D) the covered person’s types and number 
of consumer financial products and services 
provided by the covered person; 
(E) compliance with any requirement im-
posed or enforced by the Agency, including any 
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requirement relating to registration, licensing, 
fees, or assessments; and 
(F) the financial condition of such covered 
person, including a related person, for the pur-
pose of assessing the ability of such person to 
perform its obligation to consumers. 
(4) EXCEPTION
FOR
RELATED
PERSONS.— 
Other than reports permitted under paragraph 
(3)(F) or in connection with a supervisory action or 
examination or pursuant to the powers granted in 
subtitle E, the Agency shall not impose requirements 
regarding reports of any related person. 
(d) EXAMINATIONS.— 
(1) EXAMINATIONS
REQUIRED.—The Agency 
shall conduct examinations of covered persons that 
are not credit unions or depository institutions as 
part of the programs implemented under paragraphs 
(2) and (3) of section 4202(c). 
(2) EXAMINATION
STANDARDS
AND
PROCE-
DURES.—The Director shall establish risk-based 
standards and procedures for conducting examina-
tions of covered persons required to be examined 
under paragraph (1), including the frequency and 
scope of such examinations, except that the Agency 
shall conduct examinations of such covered persons 
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that are determined to pose the highest risk to con-
sumers based on factors determined by the Director, 
such as the operations, sales practices, or consumer 
financial products or services provided by such cov-
ered persons. 
(e) AUTHORITY TO COLLECT INFORMATION REGARD-
ING FEES OR ASSESSMENTS.—To the extent permitted by 
Federal law, the Agency may obtain from the Secretary 
of the Treasury information relating to a covered person 
which is not a bank holding company, credit union, or de-
pository institution, including information regarding com-
pliance with a reporting or registration requirement under 
the subchapter II of chapter 53 of title 31, United States 
Code, for the purposes of, and only to the extent necessary 
in, investigating, determining, or enforcing compliance 
with a requirement relating to any fee or assessment im-
posed by the Agency under this title. 
SEC. 4210. EFFECTIVE DATE. 
This subtitle shall take effect on the designated 
transfer date. 
Subtitle C—Specific Authorities 
SEC. 4301. PROHIBITING UNFAIR, DECEPTIVE, OR ABUSIVE 
ACTS OR PRACTICES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Agency may take any action 
authorized under subtitle E to prevent a person from com-
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mitting or engaging in an unfair, deceptive, or abusive act 
or practice under Federal law in connection with any 
transaction with a consumer for a consumer financial 
product or service, or the offering of a consumer financial 
product or service. 
(b) REGULATIONS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Director may prescribe 
regulations identifying as unlawful unfair, deceptive, 
or abusive acts or practices in connection with any 
transaction with a consumer for a consumer finan-
cial product or service or the offering of a consumer 
financial product or service. 
(2) INCLUDES PREVENTION MEASURES.—Regu-
lations prescribed under this section may include re-
quirements for the purpose of preventing such acts 
or practices. 
(c) UNFAIRNESS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Director and the Agen-
cy shall have no authority under this section to de-
clare an act or practice in connection with a trans-
action with a consumer for a consumer financial 
product or service, or the offering of a consumer fi-
nancial product or service, to be unlawful on the 
grounds that such act or practice is unfair unless 
the Agency has a reasonable basis to conclude that 
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the act or practice causes or is likely to cause sub-
stantial injury to consumers which is not reasonably 
avoidable by consumers and such substantial injury 
is not outweighed by countervailing benefits to con-
sumers or to competition. 
(2) ESTABLISHED
PUBLIC
POLICY
AS
FAC-
TOR.—In determining whether an act or practice is 
unfair, the Agency may consider established public 
policies as evidence to be considered with all other 
evidence. 
(d) CONSULTATION.—In prescribing any regulation 
under this section, the Director shall consult with the Fed-
eral banking agencies, State bank supervisors, the Federal 
Trade Commission, or other Federal agencies, as appro-
priate, regarding the consistency of a proposed regulation 
with prudential, consumer protection, civil rights, market, 
or systemic objectives administered by such agencies or 
supervisors. 
SEC. 4302. DISCLOSURES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Director may prescribe regu-
lations to ensure the timely, appropriate and effective dis-
closure to consumers of the costs, benefits, and risks asso-
ciated with any consumer financial product or service. 
(b) COORDINATION WITH OTHER LAWS.—In pre-
scribing regulations under subsection (a), the Director 
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shall take into account disclosure requirements under 
other laws in order to enhance consumer compliance and 
reduce regulatory burden. 
(c) COMPLIANCE.— 
(1) MODEL
DISCLOSURES.—The Agency may 
provide model disclosures to facilitate compliance 
with the requirements of regulations prescribed 
under this section. 
(2) PER
SE
COMPLIANCE.—Compliance by a 
covered person with the model disclosures issued by 
the Agency under this subsection shall per se con-
stitute compliance with the disclosure requirements 
of this section. 
(3) ADDITIONAL GUIDANCE.—The Agency may 
issue exemptions, no action letters, and other guid-
ance to promote compliance with disclosures require-
ments of regulations prescribed under this section. 
(d) COMBINED MORTGAGE LOAN DISCLOSURE.— 
Within 1 year after the designated transfer date, the Di-
rector shall propose for public comment regulations and 
model disclosures that combine the disclosures required 
under the Truth in Lending Act and the Real Estate Set-
tlement Procedures Act into a single, integrated disclosure 
for mortgage loan transactions covered by those laws, un-
less the Director determines that any proposal issued by 
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the Board of Governors and the Department of Housing 
and Urban Development carries out the same purpose. 
SEC. 4303. SALES PRACTICES. 
The Director may prescribe regulations and issue or-
ders and guidance regarding the manner, settings, and cir-
cumstances for the provision of any consumer financial 
products or services to ensure that the risks, costs, and 
benefits of the products or services, both initially and over 
the term of the products or services, are fully and accu-
rately represented to consumers. 
SEC. 4304. PILOT DISCLOSURES. 
(a) PILOT DISCLOSURES.—The Agency shall estab-
lish standards and procedures for approval of pilot disclo-
sures to be provided or made available by a covered person 
to consumers in connection with the provision of a con-
sumer financial product or service, or the offering of a 
consumer financial product or service. 
(b) STANDARDS.—The procedures shall provide that 
a pilot disclosure must be limited in time and scope and 
reasonably designed to contribute materially to the under-
standing of consumer awareness and understanding of, 
and responses to, disclosures or communications about the 
risks, costs, and benefits of consumer financial products 
or services. 
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(c) TRANSPARENCY.—The procedures shall provide 
for public disclosure of pilots, but the Agency may limit 
disclosure to the extent necessary to encourage covered 
persons to conduct effective pilots. 
SEC. 
4305. 
ADOPTING 
OPERATIONAL 
STANDARDS 
TO 
DETER UNFAIR, DECEPTIVE, OR ABUSIVE 
PRACTICES. 
(a) AUTHORITY TO PRESCRIBE STANDARDS.—The 
States are encouraged to prescribe standards applicable 
to covered persons who are not insured depository institu-
tions or credit unions, or service providers, to deter and 
detect unfair, deceptive, abusive, fraudulent, or illegal 
transactions in the provision of consumer financial prod-
ucts or services, including standards for— 
(1) background checks for principals, officers, 
directors, or key personnel; 
(2) registration, licensing, or certification; 
(3) bond or other appropriate financial require-
ments to provide reasonable assurance of ability to 
perform its obligations to consumers; 
(4) creating and maintaining records of trans-
actions or accounts; or 
(5) procedures and operations relating to the 
provision of, or maintenance of accounts for, con-
sumer financial products or services. 
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(b) AGENCY AUTHORITY
TO PRESCRIBE STAND-
ARDS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Director may prescribe 
regulations establishing minimum standards under 
this section for any class of covered persons other 
than covered persons which are subject to the juris-
diction of a Federal banking agency or a State bank 
supervisor , or for any service provider. 
(2) REGISTRATION
AND
LICENSING
STAND-
ARDS.—In addition to prescribing standards for the 
purposes described in subsection (a), the Director 
may prescribe registration or licensing standards ap-
plicable to covered persons for the purposes of im-
posing fees or assessments in accordance with this 
title. 
(3) ENFORCEMENT OF STANDARDS.—The Di-
rector may enforce under subtitle E compliance with 
standards adopted by the Director or a State pursu-
ant to this section for covered persons or service 
providers operating in that State. 
(c) CONSULTATION.—In prescribing minimum stand-
ards under this section, the Director shall consult with the 
Federal banking agencies, State bank supervisors, the 
Federal Trade Commission, or other Federal agencies, as 
appropriate, regarding the consistency of a proposed regu-
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lation with prudential, consumer protection, civil rights, 
market, or systemic objectives administered by such agen-
cies or supervisors. 
SEC. 4306. DUTIES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.— 
(1) REGULATIONS
ENSURING
FAIR
DEALING 
WITH
CONSUMERS.—The Director shall prescribe 
regulations imposing duties on a covered person, or 
an employee of a covered person, or an agent or 
independent contractor for a covered person, who 
deals or communicates directly with consumers in 
the provision of a consumer financial product or 
service, as the Director deems appropriate or nec-
essary to ensure fair dealing with consumers. 
(2) CONSIDERATIONS
FOR
DUTIES.—In pre-
scribing such regulations, the Director shall consider 
whether— 
(A) the covered person, employee, agent, or 
independent contractor represents implicitly or 
explicitly that the person, employee, agent, or 
contractor is acting in the interest of the con-
sumer with respect to any aspect of the trans-
action; 
(B) the covered person, employee, agent, 
or independent contractor provides the con-
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sumer with advice with respect to any aspect of 
the transaction; 
(C) the consumer’s reliance on or use of 
any advice from the covered person, employee, 
agent, or independent contractor would be rea-
sonable and justifiable under the circumstances; 
(D) the benefits to consumers of imposing 
a particular duty would outweigh the costs; and 
(E) any other factors as the Director con-
siders appropriate. 
(3) DUTIES
RELATING
TO
COMPENSATION 
PRACTICES.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—The Director may pre-
scribe regulations establishing duties regarding 
compensation practices applicable to a covered 
person, employee, agent, or independent con-
tractor who deals or communicates directly with 
a consumer in the provision of a consumer fi-
nancial product or service for the purpose of 
promoting fair dealing with consumers. 
(B) NO COMPENSATION CAPS.—The Direc-
tor may not prescribe a limit on the total dollar 
amount of compensation paid to any person. 
(C) 
DISPARITY
TREATMENT
PROHIB-
ITED.—The Director may not prescribe regula-
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tions that directly or indirectly disparately 
treat, or are interpreted to disparately treat, or 
disparately impact any entity that employs cov-
ered persons. 
(4) REQUIREMENT TO INCLUDE DISCLAIMER ON 
PUBLIC
STATEMENTS.—The Director shall ensure 
that the Agency’s website, and any statement made 
by the Director or the Agency to the public, includes 
a disclaimer stating that the Agency does not en-
dorse any particular financial product or service and 
consumers are expected to exercise due diligence in 
deciding what financial products and services are ap-
propriate for them. 
(b) ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEEDINGS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Any regulation prescribed by 
the Director under this section shall be enforceable 
only by the Agency through an adjudication pro-
ceeding under subtitle E or by a State regulator 
through an appropriate administrative proceeding as 
permitted under State law. 
(2) EXCLUSIVITY OF REMEDY.—No action may 
be commenced in any court to enforce any require-
ment of a regulation prescribed under this section, 
and no court may exercise supplemental jurisdiction 
over a claim asserted under a regulation prescribed 
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under this section based on allegations or evidence 
of conduct that otherwise may be subject to such 
regulation. 
(3) RULE
OF
CONSTRUCTION.—The Agency, 
the Attorney General, and any State attorney gen-
eral or State regulator shall not be precluded from 
enforcing any other Federal or State law against a 
person with respect to conduct that may be subject 
to a regulation prescribed by the Director under this 
section. 
(c) EXCLUSIONS.—This section shall not be con-
strued as authorizing the Director to prescribe regulations 
applicable to— 
(1) an attorney licensed to practice law and in 
compliance with the applicable rules and standards 
of professional conduct, but only to the extent that 
the consumer financial product or service provided is 
within the attorney-client relationship with the con-
sumer; or 
(2) any trustee, custodian, or other person that 
holds a fiduciary duty in connection with a trust, in-
cluding a fiduciary duty to a grantor or beneficiary 
of a trust, that is subject to and in compliance with 
the applicable law relating to such trust. 
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SEC. 4307. CONSUMER RIGHTS TO ACCESS INFORMATION. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to regulations prescribed 
by the Director, a covered person shall make available to 
a consumer, in an electronic form usable by the consumer, 
information in the control or possession of the covered per-
son concerning the consumer financial product or service 
that the consumer obtained from such covered person in-
cluding information relating to any transaction, series of 
transactions, or to the account including costs, charges 
and usage data. 
(b) EXCEPTIONS.—A covered person shall not be re-
quired by this section to make available to the consumer— 
(1) any confidential commercial information, in-
cluding an algorithm used to derive credit scores or 
other risk scores or predictors; 
(2) any information collected by the covered 
person for the purpose of preventing fraud or money 
laundering, or detecting, or making any report re-
garding other unlawful or potentially unlawful con-
duct; 
(3) any information required to be kept con-
fidential by any other law (including section 6103 of 
the Internal Revenue Code of 1986); or 
(4) any information that the covered person 
cannot retrieve in the ordinary course of its business 
with respect to that information. 
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(c) NO DUTY TO MAINTAIN RECORDS.—No provision 
of this section shall be construed as imposing any duty 
on a covered person to maintain or keep any information 
about a consumer. 
(d) STANDARDIZED FORMATS FOR DATA.—The Di-
rector, by regulation, shall prescribe standards applicable 
to covered persons to promote the development and use 
of standardized formats for information, including 
through the use of machine readable files, to be made 
available to consumers under this section. 
(e) CONSULTATION.—The Director shall, when pre-
scribing any regulation under this section, consult with the 
Federal banking agencies, State bank supervisors, the 
Federal Trade Commission, and the Commissioner of In-
ternal Revenue to ensure that the regulations— 
(1) impose substantively similar requirements 
on covered persons; 
(2) take into account conditions under which 
covered persons do business both in the United 
States and in other countries; and 
(3) do not require or promote the use of any 
particular technology in order to develop systems for 
compliance. 
SEC. 4308. PROHIBITED ACTS. 
It shall be unlawful for any person— 
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(1) to advertise, market, offer, sell, enforce, or 
attempt to enforce, any term, agreement, change in 
terms, fee, or charge in connection with a consumer 
financial product or service that is not in conformity 
with this title or applicable regulation prescribed or 
order issued by the Director or to engage in any un-
fair, deceptive, or abusive act or practice, except that 
no person shall be held to have violated this sub-
section solely by virtue of providing or selling time 
or space to a person placing an advertisement; 
(2) to fail or refuse to pay any fee or assess-
ment imposed by the Agency under this title, to fail 
or refuse to permit access to or copying of records, 
to fail or refuse to establish or maintain records, or 
to fail or refuse to make reports or provide informa-
tion to the Agency, as required by this title, an enu-
merated consumer law, or pursuant to the authori-
ties transferred by subtitles F and H, or any regula-
tion prescribed or order issued by the Director this 
title or pursuant to any such authority; or 
(3) to knowingly or recklessly provide substan-
tial assistance to another person in violation of the 
provisions of section 4301, or any regulation pre-
scribed or order issued under such section, and any 
such person shall be deemed to be in violation of 
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that section to the same extent as the person to 
whom such assistance is provided. 
SEC. 4309. TREATMENT OF REMITTANCE TRANSFERS. 
(a) DISCLOSURES
REQUIRED
FOR
REMITTANCE 
TRANSFERS.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Each remittance transfer 
provider shall make disclosures to consumers, as 
specified by this section and by regulation prescribed 
by the Director. 
(2) SPECIFIC
DISCLOSURES.—In addition to 
any other disclosures applicable under this title, a 
remittance transfer provider shall— 
(A) disclose clearly and conspicuously, in 
writing and in a form that the consumer may 
keep, to each consumer who requests informa-
tion regarding the fees or exchange rate for a 
remittance transfer, prior to the consumer mak-
ing any payment in connection with the trans-
fer— 
(i) the total amount in United States 
dollars that will be required to be paid by 
the consumer in connection with the remit-
tance transfer; 
(ii) the amount of currency that the 
designated recipient of the remittance 
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transfer will receive, using the values of 
the currency into which the funds will be 
exchanged; 
(iii) the fee charged by the remittance 
transfer provider for the remittance trans-
fer; 
(iv) any exchange rate to be used by 
the remittance transfer provider for the re-
mittance transfer, unless the exchange rate 
is not fixed on send; 
(v) the amount of time for which the 
information specified in this subparagraph 
(A) will be in effect; 
(vi) the expected time interval within 
which the funds being transferred will be 
made available to the recipient; and 
(vii) the location where the funds 
being transferred will be made available to 
the recipient if the funds are to be made 
available only at one location, or if the re-
mittance transfer provider permits the re-
cipient to choose from multiple locations 
where the funds being transferred will be 
made available to the recipient, the remit-
tance transfer provider shall make avail-
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able to the consumer or the recipient a re-
source that lists such locations; 
(B) at the time at which the consumer 
makes payment in connection with the remit-
tance transfer, a receipt in writing disclosing 
clearly and conspicuously— 
(i) the information described in sub-
paragraph (A); 
(ii) the expected time interval within 
which the funds being transferred will be 
made available to the recipient, which shall 
be not more than ten days after the date 
the consumer makes payment in connec-
tion with the remittance transfer unless 
otherwise prohibited by applicable State or 
Federal law or the law of another country, 
or as may be specified by the consumer so 
long as the consumer has the choice to 
order that the funds be made available to 
the recipient not more than ten days after 
the consumer makes payment in connec-
tion with the remittance transfer; 
(iii) the location where the funds 
being transferred will be made available to 
the recipient if the funds are to be made 
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available only at one location, or if the re-
mittance transfer provider permits the re-
cipient to choose from multiple locations 
where the funds being transferred will be 
made available to the recipient, the remit-
tance transfer provider shall make avail-
able to the consumer or the recipient a re-
source that lists such locations; 
(iv) the name and telephone number 
or address of the designated recipient, if 
provided to the remittance transfer pro-
vider by the consumer; 
(v) information about the rights of the 
consumer under this section to cancel the 
remittance transfer, to resolve errors and 
to receive refunds; 
(vi) appropriate contact information 
for the remittance transfer provider; 
(vii) a transaction reference number 
unique to that remittance transfer; and 
(viii) information as to when the ex-
change rate will be calculated (for example, 
when the funds are received by the recipi-
ent), if the customer has been notified that 
the exchange rate is not fixed on send; 
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(C) at the time at which the consumer ini-
tiates the remittance transfer, offer to provide 
in writing, prior to making any payment in con-
nection with the transfer, the information listed 
in subparagraph (A); and 
(D) in the case of an exchange rate not 
fixed on send, the remittance provider shall also 
disclose, at the time at which the consumer ini-
tiates the remittance transfer, the range, using 
the high and low rates, for the prior 30 day pe-
riod, that the consumer would have received if 
a representative amount had been exchanged by 
the remittance transfer provider, as well as a 
clear and conspicuous notice that the actual ex-
change rate may vary. 
If the actual rate used for the transfer is known to 
the remittance provider, either because such rate 
was set by the remittance provider itself or because 
the remittance provider receives confirmation of the 
actual exchange rate used, the remittance provider 
shall make available to consumers written or elec-
tronic confirmation of the actual exchange rate used 
and the amount of currency that the recipient or the 
remittance transfer received, using the values of the 
currency into which the funds were exchanged. The 
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Director shall within 2 years after the date of the 
enactment of the Consumer Financial Protection 
Agency Act of 2009 prescribe consumer disclosures 
for transfers with rates not fixed on send that are 
functionally equivalent to those applicable to remit-
tances where the exchange rate is specified by the 
remittance transfer provider at the time the con-
sumer initiates the remittance transfer. To the 
greatest extent possible, the Director shall ensure 
that functional equivalence will enable remittance 
transfer providers to comply with all requirements in 
this title and provide consumers with information 
sufficient to compare services providers, to time 
their use of the product, to discover errors in trans-
mission and to seek remedies. 
(3) 
EXEMPTION.—Notwithstanding 
require-
ments under paragraph (2)(A)(ii), (2)(A)(iv), or 
(2)(B)(i), no such disclosure is required— 
(A) because of the requirements of another 
law, including the law of another country; 
(B) because the transfer is being routed 
through the Directo a Me´xico offered by the 
Federal reserve banks; or 
(C) because of any other circumstance 
deemed permissible by regulation of the Direc-
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tor; If the actual rate used for the transfer is 
known to the remittance provider, the remit-
tance provider shall make available to con-
sumers written or electronic confirmation of the 
actual exchange rate used and the amount of 
currency that the recipient of the remittance 
transfer received, using the values of the cur-
rency into which the funds were exchanged. 
(4) PROVISION
OF
TOLL-FREE
NUMBER
AND 
WEB ACCESS.— 
(A) In addition to providing the disclosures 
required by this section to a consumer at a re-
mittance transfer provider location, a remit-
tance transfer provider shall provide a toll-free 
telephone number or local number, and an 
Internet website that a consumer can access for 
which access no remittance transfer provider 
may assess a charge, to obtain the information 
required by paragraph (2)(A) for remittance 
transfers offered by that remittance transfer 
provider or information about the status of a 
remittance transfer for which a consumer has 
made payment. 
(B) A remittance transfer provider that on 
an aggregate basis originates 30,000 or fewer 
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transfers on a calendar year basis (or such 
other amount as may be prescribed by the Di-
rector) is not required to offer the web access 
prescribed in subparagraph (A), but is required 
to provide a toll-free telephone number or local 
number as prescribed in subparagraph (A). 
(5) ALTERNATIVE METHODS OF DISCLOSURE.— 
Subject to subsection (e)(2), a remittance transfer 
provider may— 
(A) if the transaction is conducted entirely 
by telephone (which shall include, but not be 
limited to, a mobile telephone) satisfy the re-
quirements of paragraph (2)(A) orally or, at the 
option of the consumer, electronically through a 
message sent to the consumer through any elec-
tronic means (including, but not limited to, an 
electronic mail address or a mobile telephone) 
as designated by the consumer; 
(B) satisfy the requirements of paragraph 
(2)(A) electronically if the transfer is initiated 
by the consumer electronically through the re-
mittance transfer provider’s website or through 
any other electronic means; and 
(C) satisfy the requirements of paragraph 
(2)(B) by mailing (or transmitting electronically 
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if the transfer is initiated electronically by the 
consumer through the remittance transfer pro-
vider’s website or the consumer otherwise con-
sents in accordance with the provisions of sec-
tion 101 of the Electronic Signatures in Global 
and National Commerce Act) the information 
required under such paragraph to the consumer 
not later than one business day after the date 
on which the transaction is conducted, if the 
transaction is conducted entirely by telephone 
(or electronically) and the consumer requests a 
written receipt. 
(b) WRITTEN FOREIGN LANGUAGE DISCLOSURES.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—The disclosures required 
under subsections (a)(2)(A) and (a)(2)(B)(i) shall be 
made in English and— 
(A) at each remittance transfer provider 
location, shall be made in the same languages 
principally used by the remittance transfer pro-
vider, or any of its agents, to advertise, solicit, 
or market its remittance transfers business, ei-
ther orally or in writing, at that location, if 
other than English, provided that such lan-
guages are those for which the Director has 
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issued model disclosures as provided in sub-
section (g); or 
(B) on a remittance transfer provider’s 
website, shall at a minimum be made in any 
other language for which the Director has 
issued model disclosures as provided in sub-
section (g) if the remittance transfer provider, 
or any of its agents, advertises, solicits, or mar-
kets its remittance transfers business in such 
language. 
(2) DISPUTES CONCERNING TERMS.—If a dis-
closure is required by this section to be in English 
and another language, the English version of the 
disclosure shall govern any dispute concerning the 
terms of the receipt. However, any discrepancies be-
tween the English version and any other version due 
to the translation of the receipt from English to an-
other language including errors or ambiguities shall 
be construed against the remittance transfer pro-
vider or its agent and the remittance transfer pro-
vider or its agent shall be liable for any damages 
caused by these discrepancies. 
(c) REMITTANCE TRANSFER CANCELLATIONS, RE-
FUNDS, AND ERRORS.— 
(1) CANCELLATIONS.— 
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(A) After receiving the receipt required 
under subsection (a)(2)(B), a consumer may 
cancel the currency transaction— 
(i) before leaving the premises of the 
remittance transfer provider where the 
consumer received the receipt, and 
(ii) not later than 30 minutes after 
the time the consumer initiated the remit-
tance transfer with the remittance transfer 
provider. 
(B) If a consumer cancels the transaction, 
the remittance transfer provider shall imme-
diately refund to the consumer the fees paid 
and the currency to be transferred, and issue a 
receipt indicating that the transaction has been 
cancelled. 
(C) A consumer may not cancel a remit-
tance transfer after the remittance transfer pro-
vider has sent the funds to the recipient. 
(D) A remittance transfer provider shall 
not be required to provide a refund if providing 
a refund would violate State or Federal law. 
(2) REFUNDS.— 
(A) If a remittance transfer provider re-
ceives written notice from the consumer within 
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ten days of the promised date of delivery of a 
remittance transfer that no amount of the 
funds to be remitted was made available to the 
designated recipient in the foreign country, the 
remittance transfer provider shall— 
(i) refund to the consumer the total 
amount in U.S. dollars that was paid by 
the consumer in connection with such re-
mittance transfer; 
(ii) promptly transmit the remittance 
transfer in accordance with the terms in 
the written receipt provided to the con-
sumer pursuant to subsection (a)(2)(B); 
(iii) provide such other remedy, as de-
termined appropriate by rule of the Direc-
tor for the protection of consumers; or 
(iv) demonstrate to the consumer that 
the proceeds of the remittance transfer 
were made available to the recipient of the 
remittance provider. 
(B) A remittance transfer provider shall 
not be required to provide a refund if providing 
a refund would violate State or Federal law. 
(3) ERROR RESOLUTION.— 
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(A) IN GENERAL.—If a remittance transfer 
provider receives written notice from the con-
sumer within 60 days of the promised date of 
delivery that an error occurred with respect to 
a remittance transfer, including that the full 
amount of the funds to be remitted was not 
made available to the designated recipient in 
the foreign country, the remittance transfer 
provider shall resolve the error pursuant to this 
paragraph. 
(B) REMEDIES.—Not later than 120 days 
after the date of receipt of a notice from the 
consumer pursuant to subparagraph (A), the 
remittance transfer provider shall— 
(i) as applicable to the error and as 
designated by the consumer— 
(I) refund to the consumer the 
total amount in U.S. dollars that was 
paid by the consumer in connection 
with the remittance transfer that was 
not properly transmitted; 
(II) make available to the des-
ignated recipient, without additional 
cost to the designated recipient or to 
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the consumer, the amount appropriate 
to resolve the error; 
(III) provide such other remedy, 
as determined appropriate by regula-
tion of the Director for the protection 
of consumers; or 
(ii) demonstrate to the consumer that 
there was no error. 
(4) REGULATIONS.—The Director, in order to 
protect consumers, shall establish, by regulation, 
clear and appropriate standards for remittance 
transfer providers with respect to error resolution, 
cancellation and refunds. 
(d) ENFORCEMENT AUTHORITY.—The Director shall 
have the sole authority to enforce the provisions of this 
section, and any regulations established pursuant to this 
section. 
(e) APPLICABILITY
OF
OTHER
PROVISIONS
OF 
LAW.— 
(1) APPLICABILITY OF TITLE 18 AND TITLE 31 
PROVISIONS.—A remittance transfer provider that is 
a money transmitting business as defined in section 
5330 of title 31, United States Code, may provide 
remittance transfers only if such provider is in com-
pliance with the requirements of section 5330 of title 
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31, United States Code, and section 1960 of title 
18, United States Code, as applicable. 
(2) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this 
section shall be construed— 
(A) to affect the application to any trans-
action, to any remittance provider, or to any 
other person of any of the provisions of sub-
chapter II of chapter 53 of title 31, United 
States Code, section 21 of the Federal Deposit 
Insurance Act, or chapter 2 of title I of Public 
Law 91–508, or any regulations promulgated 
thereunder; or 
(B) to cause any fund transfer that would 
not otherwise be treated as such under para-
graph (2) to be treated as an electronic fund 
transfer, or as otherwise subject to this title, for 
the purposes of any of the provisions referred to 
in subparagraph (A) or any regulation pre-
scribed under such subparagraph. 
(f) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section, the 
following definitions shall apply: 
(1) DEPOSITORY INSTITUTION.—the term ‘‘de-
pository institution’’ has the same meaning as in 
section 3 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act and 
includes a credit union. 
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