In the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's complaint reports, the agency showed only seven US complaints pertaining to bitcoin in 2016; data mined by LendEDU reports four filed against CoinBase and three against Circle; nonprofit advocacy group Coin Center says 37 complaints were filed on digital currency from 2011 to 2015. Source
In a speech at the Money 20/20 conference in Las Vegas, the head of the CFPB said he was troubled by banks who would shut off access to third-party data providers and believes consumers should have access to their data; though the agency declined to comment on the possibility of a new rule, they did make it clear that consumers should be the ones who decide when and who should have access to their data; this puts banks in a tough position as they work to comply with the current regulations and burgeoning fintech market that has given consumers a variety of technology options to use their personal data. Source
The first head of the CFPB has decided to step down at the end of the month without giving a formal reason; the bureau was established in the wake of the financial crisis in 2011; Mr. Cordray sent an email to all CFPB staff saying he thought the agency made a lasting difference to improve people’s lives and that new leadership will preserve what they have done; he is rumored to be interested in running for Governor of Ohio in 2018. Source.
As former director Cordray left the CFPB last week he named an acting director to minimize operational disruption in his words; the White House on the other hand thinks he meant to provoke a response from the administration; the agency now is broiled in confusion over who is the true interim leader as the White House appointed their own interim leader; Mr. Cordray is working off of language in the Dodd-Frank Act to appoint a successor, while the White House is acting on the Federal Vacancies Reform Act that gives the President authority to appoint interim leaders; each leader will have a different mandate and the confusion will need to be cleared up soon. Source.
In October, CFPB Director Richard Cordray warned banks not to limit access to financial data by third parties working on behalf of the customer; now the bureau he leads is opening an inquiry into a data sharing dispute between banks and fintech companies; the inquiry is focused on consumer choice, security and control; the CFPB believes this will help banks and fintech companies better understand what the customer needs, how to accurately give the customer choice and security, and who ultimately owns the customer's data. Source
