Crapo Asks GAO to Investigate CFPB Data Collection

WASHINGTON — Sen. Mike Crapo, the top Republican on the Senate Banking Committee, is asking the Government Accountability Office to look into the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's data collection efforts.

The Idaho lawmaker has raised concerns about the agency's gathering of industry data for several months, complaining in May that the CFPB has been "evasive" in responding to his requests for further details.

"The law that established the CFPB expressly prohibits gathering or analyzing the personally identifiable financial information of consumers except for very limited purposes. While CFPB officials have stated the CFPB is not collecting PII, we do not know what information it collects, on how many accounts, or how this information is being used," Crapo wrote in a July 2 letter to Gene Dodaro, comptroller general of the GAO.

He added: "In addition to regulatory and privacy concerns, this also raises data security issues especially since the CFPB's inspector general has already identified deficiencies in this area."

Crapo is requesting the GAO investigate the purpose and scope of the agency's data collection, the legal authority it operates under to gather that information and how it protects that data, along with more details about the cost and kinds of information it purchases from third parties and contractors.