Supreme Court to Hear CFPB Funding Case

January 1, 2021

Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court announced it will review a lower court decision that held the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is unconstitutionally funded. The Supreme Court will hear the case in its next term, which begins October 2023.

For CREFC members, the CFPB administers the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA), which mandates multifamily lenders collect and report data on their apartment loans. The CFPB also is taking an increased role in renter protection.

Why it matters: If the Court agrees the funding is unconstitutional, it could force major changes at the CFPB by subjecting it to the Congressional appropriations. That could make the agency more accountable to Congress.

  • As designed in Dodd-Frank, the CFPB requests its annual budget from the Federal Reserve.
  • The idea was to insulate the regulator from political pressure of congressional funding.
  • Other regulators such as the FDIC, OCC, and Fed are also funded outside of congressional appropriations. The SEC is subject to appropriations.
  • The CFPB Director originally was removable only for cause, but a Supreme Court decision found that structure unconstitutional.

Our thought bubble: Some CFPB foes are predicting SCOTUS could use the case to invalidate the agency and its previous actions. But even if the Court finds the funding mechanism unconstitutional, the agency and its regulations are likely to survive.

In previous cases where an agency’s structure (ex. CFPB and FHFA) has been found unconstitutional, the remedy has been to make the director removable by the president. While the funding case could be different, a likely outcome is that Congress will have to pass funds annually for the CFPB.

The bottom line: The case is important for the regulator, but Congress’ power of the purse over the CFPB is less likely to have as dramatic of an impact as changing the director with each presidential administration.

What’s next: A Supreme Court hearing is likely to occur in Q4 of 2023, but a decision not announced until the first half 0f 2024.

Contact David McCarthy (dmccarthy@crefc.org) with questions.

Contact 

David McCarthy
Managing Director, Head of Policy
202.448.0855
dmccarthy@crefc.org

Illustration of two gavels forming an x in front of the Supreme Court building

The nation's highest court will decide whether the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's funding mechanism is constitutional.

The information provided herein is general in nature and for educational purposes only. CRE Finance Council makes no representations as to the accuracy, completeness, timeliness, validity, usefulness, or suitability of the information provided. The information should not be relied upon or interpreted as legal, financial, tax, accounting, investment, commercial or other advice, and CRE Finance Council disclaims all liability for any such reliance. © 2023 CRE Finance Council. All rights reserved.
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