Description

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This is version 2 of the CFPB Supervision and Examination Manual. It is the guide examiners use in overseeing companies that provide consumer financial products and services. Originally released in October 2011, it describes how the CFPB supervises and examines these providers and gives our examiners direction on how to determine if companies are complying with consumer financial protection laws. The manual has been updated in this edition to reflect the renumbering of the consumer financial protection regulations for which the CFPB is responsible. The numbering conventions in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) allow the reader to easily identify which regulations fall under a particular agency's responsibility. The renumbering incorporated throughout the manual reflects the Dodd-Frank Act of 2010 transfer of rulemaking responsibility for many consumer financial protection regulations from other Federal agencies to the CFPB. In December 2011, the CFPB published its renumbered regulations in the Federal Register. The renumbered regulations also included certain technical changes but no substantive changes. The CFPB's renumbering reflects the codification of its regulations in Title 12 (Banks and Banking), Chapter X (Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection) of the CFR. For example, before July 21, 2011, the Federal Reserve had rulemaking authority for the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act, which was codified in Title 12, Chapter II (Federal Reserve System), Part 203. The CFPB's implementing regulation for the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act is now codified in Title 12, Chapter X, Part 1003. In addition to changes related to the renumbering of the CFPB regulations, the manual incorporates updated interagency examination procedures for the Truth in Lending Act (TILA) and for the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), both of which were revised to reflect statutory and regulatory changes. Specifically, changes to the TILA procedures include amendments to TILA and its implementing Regulation Z pursuant to the Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009. Changes to the FCRA procedures include Dodd- Frank Act amendments that require the disclosure of a credit score and related information when a credit score is used in taking an adverse action or in risk-based pricing. Finally, the manual was updated to incorporate: new examination procedures released since the issuance of the manual in October 2011 (covering mortgage origination; short-term, small-dollar lending; SAFE Act; and consumer reporting); the June 21, 2012, Interagency Guidance on Mortgage Servicing Practices Concerning Military Homeowners with Permanent Change of Station Orders; and, technical corrections and formatting changes. This examination manual provides internal guidance to supervisory staff of the CFPB. It does not bind the CFPB and does not create any rights, benefits, or defenses, substantive or procedural, that are enforceable by any party in any manner. While every effort has been made to ensure accuracy, examination procedures should not be relied on as a legal reference.