On 11/30/2020, the CFPB issued its final Advisory Opinions Policy to set forth procedures to facilitate the submission of requests that the CFPB issue advisory opinions. Advisory opinions may be issued by the CFPB in the form of interpretive rules, which in some situations may provide a safe harbor to regulated entities that are in compliance with the Bureau’s interpretive rule, in order to resolve regulatory uncertainty for interested parties. The Bureau initiated its policy for issuing advisory opinions in response to feedback received from external stakeholders in the 2018 Guidance RFI, encouraging the Bureau to provide written guidance in cases of regulatory uncertainty. The Advisory Opinion Policy is applicable on November 30, 2020.
In conjunction with the release of its final Advisory Opinions Policy, the CFPB also released two advisory opinions:
Advisory opinion related to earned wage access
Advisory opinion related to private education loans
Information about the CFPB’s Advisory Opinion Program can be found here.
