CFPB scraps bad-actor registry, citing cost-benefit issues

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) shut down a registry of non-bank financial firms that broke consumer laws. The agency cites the costs being ”not justified by the speculative and unquantified benefits to consumers.” 

The CFPB published a final rule to rescind the rule that created the registry in the Federal Register on Wednesday. In the document, the agency points to costs and administrative burdens as the reasons for the withdrawal of the rule. 

According to a cost-benefit analysis listed in the document, the agency would have to spend $360 per firm in order to maintain the registry. The CFPB also noted that publishing information on the registry could confuse consumers, or unfairly damage a firm’s reputation.