The federal agency responsible for consumer financial protection on Thursday said it is continuing to conduct supervision with consumer protection in mind, but examinations and other supervisory work is being carried out remotely “for the time being” due to the nationwide disruptions caused by the coronavirus (COVID-19).
“Our examiners are conducting supervisory activities from their home-duty stations by leveraging technology and adjusting work as necessary,” the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) said in a blog post. “We are also planning for multiple contingencies in the event that health and safety concerns dictate that we continue to conduct examination work from alternate locations for a longer period of time.”
The CFPB said it’s working to fulfill its consumer protection mission – evaluating complance with federal consumer financial law and the adequacy of compliance management systems – while being mindful of the challenges faced by institutions.
“To that end, we are appropriately adapting how we conduct our supervisory work through regular communication with our supervised entities. As we conduct our supervisory work, we will consider the circumstances that supervised entities are facing and will be sensitive to good-faith efforts demonstrably designed to assist consumers,” the agency said. “We also remain in close contact with our sister Federal and state regulatory agencies as we continue to assure consumers are protected, coordinating across regulatory jurisdictions during these challenging times.”
Supervisory work continues with a commitment to protecting consumers