CBA Statement on Supreme Court CFPB Ruling

CBA Statement on Supreme Court CFPB Ruling
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Consumer Bankers Associations President and CEO Richard Hunt issued the following statement after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Seila Law LLC v CFPB the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s leadership structure was unconstitutional and changed the Bureau’s single director from a position which could only be fired for cause to a political position removable at the will of the President:
“The Court’s ruling eliminates the Bureau’s independence through the creation of an at-will Director, further exacerbating the political influence that has already plagued the Bureau. This outcome subjects consumers and the financial services industry to potentially radical regulatory shifts with each administration. It is inconceivable that Congress, which wanted to shield the Bureau from political vagaries, would have approved that result. Congress had many opportunities to ensure the CFPB would be more independent and bipartisan.
“Rather than allowing judicial action to create a political agency Congress never intended, Congress should immediately pass legislation creating a bipartisan commission to lead the CFPB – just as the Democratic-led House of Representatives originally intended in 2009.”
NOTE: CBA filed an amicus brief arguing if the CFPB’s leadership structure is ruled unconstitutional, the Court should sever Title X, not merely section 5491(c)(3), and stay its judgment for six months to provide Congress time to enact a permissible structure – like a bipartisan commission similar to other independent regulatory agencies. We do not believe the Courts can use the severability clause in this case to make the Bureau’s “for-cause” Director to an “at-will” position because it would change Congress’ intent, which was to create an independent agency. A full copy of CBA’s amicus is available here.
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