Today, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) released its Supervision and Examination Manual (the “Manual”), which may be found at CFPB Supervision and Examination Manual. The following is taken from the CFPB Notice of the Manual’s release, posted on its website at http://www.consumerfinance.gov/, and the Manual’s Introduction. CFPB Notice The Manual provides CFPB examiners with direction on how to determine if providers of consumer financial products and services are complying with consumer protection laws and how to determine if the providers have adequate policies and procedures in place to comply with those laws. The Manual incorporates examination procedures used by other federal regulators to check for compliance with consumer protection laws. The Manual also helps ensure that the CFPB is applying the law consistently across everyone that the CFPB supervises. Among other things, the CFPB will: (i) look at sales and marketing materials and disclosures given to consumers; (ii) review whether required information is presented in a clear and conspicuous manner in advertisements consistent with applicable law; and, (iii) review whether the required information in account disclosures, such as costs to the consumer, is accurate and consistent with applicable law.
