New York — The Clearing House Association, joined by the American Bankers Association, Bank Policy Institute, and New York Bankers Association, sent an open letter to Mr. Seth Frotman, general counsel of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), relating to the CFPB’s recent amicus brief in the New York v. Citibank case, as well as a May 29 blog post by Mr. Frotman, both of which contend that the originating portions of online consumer wire transfers do not fall within the wire-transfer exemption established by Congress in the Electronic Fund Transfer Act (EFTA) in 1978. The associations collectively noted that this contention reflects a complete reversal from the CFPB’s regulations and longstanding position on the subject. Moreover, the associations believe the law does not give the CFPB room to adopt this new position, which is the opposite of what EFTA prescribes. Even if it had the legal authority to adopt the new position, the CFPB did not observe any of the procedural safeguards required by law in doing so. As such, the associations called on the CFPB to withdraw the blog post. They also urged the CFPB to constructively tackle the problem of fraud on consumers by working collaboratively with the private sector to enhance security against, and increase consumer awareness of, fraud.

To read the full comment letter click here.