The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is setting up special advisory boards to get input from small banks and credit unions on regulatory policies.
CFPB director Richard Cordray told a House subcommittee Tuesday that he wants to have a “strong line of communication” with community banks, which have a growing presence in the mortgage market.
“They are very high-touch with their customers and don’t necessarily have to be held to all the same requirements and standards” as larger institutions, he said.
Cordray noted that the bureau can set thresholds and exempt small institutions from certain regulatory requirements. Such exemptions will be made on a “case-by-case” basis, he said.
The CFPB is expected to propose and finalize a comprehensive mortgage servicing rule in the next six months and bankers are hoping the bureau will use its authority to exempt community banks from some of the servicing requirements.
Cordray told subcommittee members that the agency is close to announcing the creation of a special advisory board for community banks and a separate one for credit unions.
