Banking and credit union trade groups are urging Congress to consider repealing any upcoming Consumer Financial Protection Bureau rules governing arbitration, payday lending, debt collection and prepaid cards by using its authority under the Congressional Review Act.
The law gives Congress the chance to reject any rule that is finalized in the waning days of an administration.
The groups also again asked Congress to pass a bill that would create a five-member commission for the agency, replacing its current single-director structure.
The CFPB's "sole director leadership model is fragile, uncertain, and leads to instability at the bureau," the groups wrote in a two-page letter to Senate GOP and Democratic leaders. A commission will "safeguard consumers and increase credit accessibility."
The letter was signed by the heads of the Consumer Bankers Association, the Credit Union National Association, the Independent Community Bankers of America, and the National Association of Federal Credit Unions.
The letter also mentioned a district court ruling in a controversial case, PHH Corp. v. CFPB, that found in October that the bureau's single-director structure is unconstitutional.
Though the CFPB has appealed the case, the trade groups said that ruling "makes it even more apparent what a whipsaw effect the single director model presents, inhibiting the ability for financial institutions to plan for the future, which in turn limits economic growth and hurts consumers."
