The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau finalized a rule to establish a registry to detect and deter corporate offenders that have broken consumer laws and are subject to federal, state, or local government or court orders. The registry will also help the CFPB to identify repeat offenders and recidivism trends. The new registry is part of the CFPB’s ongoing focus on holding lawbreaking companies accountable and stopping corporate recidivism.

The final rule requires covered nonbank companies to:

• Register with the CFPB when they have been caught violating consumer law: Generally, covered nonbanks will report certain final agency and court orders and judgments to the CFPB. These orders include consent and stipulated orders brought under consumer protection laws.
• Provide an attestation from a senior executive that the company is not flouting orders: For nonbank companies supervised by the CFPB, the entity subject to an order will provide a written attestation from an executive that confirms compliance with any relevant orders.

The CFPB made changes to the proposed rule in response to public feedback. For example, registrants with orders published in the NMLS Consumer Access website may use a simplified filing process. The registration requirements will be phased in on a rolling basis.

Reining in repeat offenders is a priority for the CFPB. Importantly, the CFPB established a Repeat Offender Unit. This national supervision team is responsible for designing and executing comprehensive oversight of supervised entities subject to CFPB law enforcement orders. The Repeat Offenders Unit is actively ensuring that a company, its senior management, and its board of directors are not treating any orders as suggestions. The CFPB is taking a number of steps to identify specific individuals responsible for repeat offenses.