Joint Trades Letter to CFPB on Credit Card Agreement Terms Collection

Mr. Anthony May, PRA Officer
Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection
1700 G Street, NW
Washington, DC 20552

The American Bankers Association, Bank Policy Institute, Consumer Bankers Association, Credit Union National Association, and National Association of Federally-Insured Credit Unions write again in regard to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's ("CFPB") notice and request for comment regarding the Report of Terms of Credit Card Plans (Form FR 2572) and Consumer and College Credit Card Agreements ("Request").  We respectfully request a response to the previous letter regarding the Request filed by the above-listed associations, among others, dated September 7, 2022, which recommended that the CFPB (1) issue a supplemental notice clarifying the proposed revisions to the existing information collection; and (2) extend the comment deadline to 60 days from the date of issuance of such a supplemental notice. 

Congress enacted the Paperwork Reduction Act ("PRA") to ensure that, when a federal agency conducts a survey or otherwise collects information from the public, the survey or information collection provides practical benefit to the agency and minimizes the burden on survey respondents. The PRA achieves these goals by requiring the agency to provide the public with a 60-day comment period. However, the public cannot provide meaningful feedback if the agency, as here, does not provide the public with sufficient detail about its proposed collection.

Therefore, we write again to urge the CFPB to publish a notice and request for comment that would permit meaningful public comment on any proposal amending credit card issuers' obligations to report on credit card terms and to submit credit card agreements.

We stand ready to provide the CFPB with substantive input from our membership, including on (1) whether the proposed changes would have practical utility; (2) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (3) ways to minimize the burden of the collection on respondents. Unfortunately, as noted above, the Request provides no detail to permit us to provide any such feedback on the CFPB’s proposals.

We also write to remind the CFPB that staff publishing a blog post with "consider[ations for] modernizing the [Terms of Credit Card Plans ("TCCP")] Survey" ("Blog Post") does not satisfy the CFPB’s obligations under the PRA as it relates to a collection of information. Even if it did, the considerations included in the Blog Post do not provide sufficient detail to enable meaningful public comment. For example, as discussed in our September 7, 2022 letter, the Blog Post states that "we are considering requiring selected issuers to submit data on the median APR offered to consumers in three broad credit score tiers." The public cannot reasonably provide meaningful comment on the value or burden of this vague proposal without understanding, for example, (i) who the selected issuers are; (ii) how the CFPB (or CFPB staff) intends to calculate the median APR; (iii) what value the median APR would have for consumers; and (iv) what the credit score tiers might be. Upon publication of specific policy proposals, we stand ready to provide comment on the practical utility, quality of the data, and burden of the collection of information.

Similarly, the Blog Post states that "[o]ne of the biggest changes [CFPB staff is] considering to the TCCP Survey would require the top 25 issuers to submit data on each of their general purpose credit cards." The apparent purpose of this change is to "help consumers see if they’re eligible for certain products and offer a free platform for local organizations focused on relationship banking to find customers." Given the proliferation of free, commercially available platforms that enable consumers to compare credit card products and assess eligibility, we strongly urge the CFPB to comply with the PRA requirement to solicit comment on whether such a requirement would be "necessary for the proper performance of the functions" of the CFPB, and whether "the information will have practical utility." Moreover, the CFPB's description of the database being used for consumers "to see if they're eligible for certain products" raises issues about the CFPB's responsibility to post accurate information and consumer expectations regarding application approval and terms.

Again, we respectfully request that, consistent with the PRA, the CFPB publish specific notice of the changes it is proposing for the TCCP Survey, and as it relates to the submission of consumer and college credit card agreements. We stand ready to share the perspective of our credit card issuing membership in response to any such notice and within a time frame consistent with the PRA.

Thank you for your consideration of this request.

Sincerely,

AMERICAN BANKERS ASSOCIATION

BANK POLICY INSTITUTE

CONSUMER BANKERS ASSOCIATION

CREDIT UNION NATIONAL ASSOCIATION

NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF FEDERALLY-INSURED CREDIT UNIONS