CFPB Rescinds No-Action Letter and Compliance Assistance Sandbox Policies | Practical Law

CFPB Rescinds No-Action Letter and Compliance Assistance Sandbox Policies | Practical Law

The CFPB has rescinded its No-Action Letter Policy and its Compliance Assistance Sandbox Policy, effective September 30, 2022.

CFPB Rescinds No-Action Letter and Compliance Assistance Sandbox Policies

Practical Law Legal Update w-037-1500 (Approx. 3 pages)

CFPB Rescinds No-Action Letter and Compliance Assistance Sandbox Policies

by Practical Law Finance
Published on 05 Oct 2022 • USA (National/Federal)
The CFPB has rescinded its No-Action Letter Policy and its Compliance Assistance Sandbox Policy, effective September 30, 2022.
On September 27, 2022, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued a statement in the Federal Register rescinding its Policy on No-Action Letters (NAL Policy) and its Policy on the Compliance Assistance Sandbox (CAS Policy), effective September 30, 2022.
The NAL Policy and CAS Policy (Policies) were previously issued by the CFPB (along with its Policy on Trial Disclosure Program (TPD Policy), in an effort to facilitate access and innovation in markets for consumer financial products and services.
  • Under the NAL Policy, the CFPB would grant NALs to individual companies, advising recipients that the CFPB would not make supervisory findings or bring a supervisory or enforcement action against the company regarding certain matters.
  • The CAS Policy set forth how the CFPB would:
    • grant a company immunity from liability under one or more of three safe harbor provisions under the Truth-in-Lending Act (TILA), the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA), and the Electronic Fund Transfer Act (EFTA); and
    • provide an approval concluding that the offering or providing of certain aspects of an individual company's product or service complies with the relevant Federal consumer financial law.
  • According to the statement, the CFPB has determined that the NAL and CAS Policies:
    • do not advance their stated objective of facilitating consumer-beneficial innovation; and
    • failed to meet appropriate standards for transparency and stakeholder participation.
The statement notes that the CFPB is developing new approaches to facilitate the development of new products and services. For more information on these efforts, see and Legal Update, CFPB Announces New Office of Competition and Innovation.
According to the statement, effective September 30, 2022:
  • The NAL Policy and the CAS Policy are rescinded.
  • The CFPB will no longer accept NAL or CAS applications.
  • Entities that have made submissions under either Policy will be notified if the CFPB intends to take additional steps on such submissions.
The statement notes that the CFPB will continue to accept and process requests under the TDP Policy.