This bill revises the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB’s) civil investigative demand process. The demand process is used to gather information relevant to a violation of consumer financial law before formal proceedings.
Under the bill, such demands must be issued and served no later than six years after the date of the violation. The demand must also provide specific reference to particular facts regarding the violation.
The bill establishes a process that allows an advising attorney to submit questions on behalf of a person compelled by a demand to appear for oral testimony.
The bill also allows for judicial review if the CFPB denies a petition to set aside or modify a demand. These petitions must be treated as confidential.
In addition, the bill expands the grounds on which a petitioner may seek relief from such a demand to include a demonstration that the demand (1) is unduly burdensome, expensive, and outside the scope of the inquiry; (2) is unreasonably cumulative or duplicative; or (3) can be obtained from some other source that is more convenient, less burdensome, or less expensive.