Douglas Gillison, Nupur Anand, Pete Schroeder, Isla Vinnie
(Reuters) – CEO Jamie Dimon suddenly halted his work at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) at JPMorgan Town Hall meeting Wednesday, and questioned that its existence was good news for the industry We were asked if the decision was good news.
Dimon told employees that when “policies flip back and forth”, it was difficult for banks, and that it was difficult for banks who preferred consistent policies. The CFPB had some excellent consumer protection regulations, especially in areas like Payday lenders, which has not been reported previously, according to records from a conference reviewed by Reuters. Still, he did not lament the dismantling of the agency.
“The only good thing I say about the CFPB is that there are consumer protection rules for good things,” Dimon said. He added that the agency “substantially over their authority,” and used the expletive to describe Democrat Rohit Chopra, who led an aggressive enforcement campaign against the industry. He added. JPMorgan is one of three banks that CFPB sued in December, claiming “wide-wide” fraud by Zelle Payment Service.
JPMorgan declined to comment. A Chopra spokesman declined to comment.
Founded to protect consumers after LAX mortgage regulations and other tinsel industry practices led to the 2008 financial crisis, the CFPB has been revised by conservatives and industry.
Still, according to half a dozen people who advise or work in Banks, it has returned to the sudden weekend of the Trump administration, led by Elon Musk Government Efficiency (DOGE). or financial technology companies regulated by the CFPB.
Sudden work halts have consequences. It leaves much of the consumer finances without oversight, from mortgage companies to payment apps, and removes venues where consumers can file complaints about providers. Also, according to industry advisors and some current and previous CFPB staff, many researches are hanging in the balance.
An industry with a surge in conversations to assess the impact of CFPB castration has raised concerns that state regulatory patchwork could take on CFPB-led issues, making it even more troubling You may have left a requirement. I said.
Some executives raised industry calls that CFPB collected and questioned who Musk’s team was responsible for during the industry call.
Musk and President Donald Trump have said the role of entrepreneurs at Doge does not present a conflict of interest.
CFPB holds a huge amount of data, including confidential supervision reports, test results, research records, and compliance records, including customer-facing personal information, accounts, transaction history, and product preferences.
Industry executives said they were worried about the apparent lack of plans.
“That’s something banks are always worried about. Rather than knowing who you’re dealing with, it’s patchwork regulations,” and the American Bankers Association, the trade group that currently runs his own consulting company. Former lobbyist James Valentin said. “It’s easy to say, ‘Let’s get rid of something’, but you have to have a plan in place. ”
Public relations officers for the White House, CFPB and Doge did not respond to requests for comment. Mask did not respond to requests for comment.
Regulation blank
It’s still possible to see if the agency continues to exist in any way and whether its functionality should still be seen. The White House has appointed former Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation member Jonathan McCernan as CFPB’s full-time director, and some analysts doubt the administration doesn’t want to eradicate it completely. McCernan did not respond to requests for comment.
The complex sentiment of industry relief and concerns underscores the fact that the Trump administration’s drastic federal remake is likely to lead to results that are not fully understood.
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell on Tuesday told Congress that other federal regulators have not enforced several consumer finance laws in their absence. Some experts say that regulatory blanks can make everyday Americans vulnerable to predatory practices, particularly from lightly regulated parts of the financial industry, and erode trust overall. He said there was.
“Banks are a trust-related industry that hinders regulatory uncertainty,” said Matthew Biven, co-head of the Global Financial Services Group at law firm King & Spalding. “So the long-term question is, “How will the new direction affect the confidence and certainty of market participants in consumers and regulations?”
The book was closed and the laptop was left
The writing was on the walls of the CFPB, but the speed of the event left the industry and staff were surprised.
On Friday night, February 7th, Trump was appointed Russell as acting director for the CFPB. Vought, who is Trump’s budget director, was one of the architects of Project 2025. This is a conservative manifesto issued by the Heritage Foundation, which called for the removal of the CFPB.
A spokesman from the Management and Budget office that took the lead did not respond to requests for comment.
Vought immediately ordered a temporary closure of the agency. One CFPB staff member said many employees had little warning on their desks, including laptops and family photos, children’s artwork, potted plants and more, so there was no warning about them leaving their laptops or personal belongings. Ta.
Another staff member said hundreds of bank examiners who will be looking into and inspecting books at banks and other financial companies on Monday must change their travel plans. The enforcement lawyer turned off the computer during a document review of the investigation, the person said.
This week we were trying to figure out whether any challenging or facing actions from the CFPB must continue to pursue those cases. The lawsuit is pending against companies, including Capital One, and Capital One has been accused of fraudulently cheating customers in high profit accounts. Meta said that advertising for financial products is being investigated. And Experian is facing a lawsuit claiming it mistreated the complaint.
Meta declined to comment. Experian and Capital One did not respond to requests for comment.
“There are a lot of organizations currently under investigation. What that means and if the investigation is potentially shut down, the investigation will shut down,” said Anastasia Stull, partner at Stinson Law Firm. states. In a lawsuit with the CFPB.
(Reporting by Douglas Gillison, Pete Schroeder, Nupur Anand, Hannah Lang and Isla Vinny, Additional Reports by Ranan Nuguen and Tatiana Bautzer, Written by Megan Davis, Edited by Paritosh Bansal and Anna Driver )
