Treasury will probably recommend stripping CFPB’s powers – report

A Treasury Department report due this week is expected to recommend reducing the controversial agency’s authority

Treasury will probably recommend stripping CFPB’s powers – report
The Treasury Department is expected to recommend stripping some power from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in a report due out this week.

The report comes as the result of an executive order issued by President Donald Trump in February. In the order, Trump instructed the Treasury to examine current financial regulations.

The report is extremely critical of the CFPB and recommends that the agency be stripped of its power to examine financial institutions, reported Fox Business, citing sources familiar with the matter.

The Treasury report’s recommendations aren’t as sweeping as the changes in the Financial CHOICE Act, according to Fox Business. The Treasury is likely to recommend that the agency continue to be led by a single director – a key sticking point with congressional Republicans – but that the president have the authority to remove the director at will.

The Treasury report also contains recommendations on the Volcker rule, which prohibits banks from most trading or speculation unless it’s done on the customer’s behalf. According to Fox Business, the Treasury will most likely recommend that banks with less than $10 billion in assets be exempt from the rule. However, it isn’t likely to recommend repealing the rule altogether – which the Financial CHOICE Act would.

Trump has pledged to cut regulations by 75%. In a meeting earlier this year, he pledged to give the controversial Dodd-Frank Act “a major haircut.”


Related stories:
Consumer advocacy group slams Financial CHOICE Act
CFPB slaps servicer with $1.5 million penalty