Sponsors (8)
Introduced February 27, 2025 by Garland H. Barr · Last progress February 27, 2025
This bill trades clearer, narrower rules and procedural predictability for financial firms (and some taxpayer savings) in exchange for narrower enforcement authority, reduced monetary remedies, and weaker deterrence that may leave vulnerable consumers with less protection and slower relief.
Financial institutions (and indirectly taxpayers) will face clearer, narrower rules, timelines, and pleading/venue limits that reduce regulatory uncertainty and lower litigation and compliance risk.
Middle- and low-income consumers could see fewer unfair, deceptive, or abusive practices if the CFPB issues targeted rules identifying and preventing such conduct and if firms self-report and cure problems promptly.
Taxpayers may avoid some public costs from protracted enforcement litigation because limits on retrospective penalties and narrowed claims can reduce the number and length of CFPB penalty actions.
Low‑income consumers and other harmed individuals will lose or face weaker federal enforcement avenues (including monetary penalties) for discriminatory, pre‑rating, or subtly abusive practices, reducing compensation and deterrence.
Limits on monetary relief, broader cure periods, and restrictions on penalty authority reduce deterrence and may encourage riskier or predatory business practices that disproportionately harm vulnerable consumers.
Expanded rulemaking authority combined with new administrative rule requirements can increase compliance costs for banks and financial firms, costs that may be passed on to consumers through higher prices or reduced services.
Based on analysis of 8 sections of legislative text.
Narrows and clarifies the CFPB's UDAAP/"abusive" authority, mandates rulemaking and notice-and-cure processes, limits civil money penalties, and adds pleading and venue rules.
Makes major changes to how the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau defines and enforces "abusive" acts or practices in consumer finance. It forces the Bureau to issue several rules and definitions on tight deadlines, narrows what counts as "abusive," adds a notice-and-opportunity-to-cure process, limits when civil money penalties can be imposed, and adds new pleading, venue, and procedural limits on enforcement actions.