On June 25, 2019, the CFPB held a symposium on abusive acts or practices. This symposium was the first in a series aimed at stimulating a proactive and transparent dialogue to assist the Bureau in its policy development process, including possible future rulemakings. The CFPB has explained that the format of each symposium will include a discussion panel of experts with a variety of viewpoints on the topic.
The recent abusive acts or practices symposium included two panels of UDAAP experts and also included remarks by CFPB Director Kathleen L. Kraninger and CFPB Deputy Director Brian Johnson. The first panel included a discussion with leading academic experts in the area of Consumer Protection on various policy issues relating to the abusive standard under Dodd-Frank and was moderated by Tom Pahl, CFPB’s Policy Associate Director, Research, Markets and Regulation. The experts on the panel included:
Patricia McCoy, Professor of Law, Boston College Law School
Todd Zywicki, Professor of Law, George Mason University, Antonin Scalia Law School
Howard Beales, George Washington University; former Director of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Bureau of Consumer Protection
Adam Levitin, Professor of Law, Georgetown Law School
The second panel examined how the abusive standard has been used in practice, and included leading legal experts in the field. The panel was moderated by David Bleicken, CFPB Deputy Associate Director, Supervision, Enforcement and Fair Lending. Experts on the panel included:
William MacLeod, Partner at Kelley Drye; former Director of the FTC Bureau of Consumer Protection and Bureau of Competition
Eric Mogilnicki, Partner at Covington & Burling; former Chief of Staff, Senator Ted Kennedy
Lucy Morris, Partner Hudson Cook; former CFPB Deputy Enforcement Director
Nicholas Smyth, Assistant Director of the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, Senior Deputy Attorney General
Information about the symposium, including written statements from panelists and a transcript of speeches by CFPB leadership can be found here.