The federal consumer financial protection agency on Thursday completed action initiated in 2016 by issuing a final rule on its own disclosure of records and information that is scheduled to take effect Dec. 24.
The rule addresses the confidential treatment of information that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) obtains from persons in connection with its exercise of authorities under federal consumer financial laws.
The bureau, in its final rule notice, said it issued a proposed rule in August 2016 to clarify, correct, and amend certain provisions of the rule; in September 2018, it finalized portions of the proposal related to the Freedom of Information Act, the Privacy Act, and requests for bureau information in legal proceedings.
The bureau, in a release, said Thursday’s final rule “seeks to balance concerns regarding the Bureau’s need to protect confidential personal, business, supervisory, and investigative information against the need to use and disclose certain information in the course of the Bureau’s work or the work of other agencies with overlapping statutory or regulatory authority.”
According to the bureau, the final rule improves clarity and transparency; improves its relationships with agency partners and others; improves its ability to protect confidential information; and provides guidance to industry stakeholders on how it interprets its own rules.
Reg lookup: Amendments Relating to Disclosure of Records and Information