AFSA’s Views on Trends in Regulation and Regulatory Reform
This week, the American Financial Services Association (AFSA) sent a letter to the House Committee on Oversight and Reform to share its perspective on recent trends in regulation and regulatory reform. AFSA shares Congress’ views that we should be vigilant in addressing the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. AFSA urges Congress to use a targeted approach for regulation and avoid imposing unnecessary and burdensome regulations.
In its letter, AFSA commented on specific regulations promulgated since 2008 that significantly affected the consumer finance industry. These include:
- 2015 Military Lending Act (MLA) Regulations
- Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) Regulations
- Current Expected Credit Loss (CECL) Accounting Standard
- Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) Payday, Vehicle Title, and Certain High-Cost Installment Loans Rule
In addition, AFSA stated that the Federal Reserve should allow finance companies to participate in the Main Street Lending Program (MSLP) and the Small Business Administration make it clear that these companies qualify for Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan forgiveness. Moving forward, Congress must avoid imposing new regulations that would hinder economic growth as our country recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic. These potentially harmful new regulations include rate caps, debt collection prohibitions, and credit reporting restrictions.
September 9th, 2020 by Dan Bucherer
