A rule change on inflation adjustments to civil penalties by the federal consumer financial protection agency was published Friday in the Federal Register and is out for public comment until Nov. 13.
The revision, proposed by the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (BCFP, formerly known as CFPB), would state that the adjusted civil monetary penalties only apply to assessments whose associated violations occurred on or after Nov. 2, 2015, conforming the rule with the date of enactment of a 2015 federal civil penalties inflation adjustment statute.
The BCFP adopted an interim final rule in 2016 that details the method for implementing such adjustments, but it had an applicability date for adjusted penalties of on or after July 14, 2016, the effective date of the interim rule, regardless of when the subject violation occurred.
The civil penalties adjustment law requires inflation adjustments not later than Jan. 15 of each year. This applies to the BCFP as well as financial institutions’ federal prudential regulators.