On April 1, 2020, the CFPB issued a Policy Statement that outlines the responsibility of credit reporting companies and furnishers during the COVID-19 pandemic. In response to the pandemic, many lenders are being flexible when it comes to consumers’ making payments. The Bureau’s statement underscores that consumers benefit if lenders report accurate information about these arrangements to credit bureaus so that the credit reports of consumers are accurate.

On April 7, several U.S. senators sent a letter to the CFPB that both criticized the Bureau’s Policy Statement and offered additional suggestions on credit reporting.  The senators on the letter are U.S. Sens. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), the ranking member on Senate Banking; and Brian Schatz (D-HI), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Jack Reed (D-RI).

On April 13, 23 state attorneys general sent a letter to the CFPB criticizing its April 1 Policy Statement.

On June 16, 2021, the CFPB issued a series of Consumer Reporting FAQs Related to the CARES Act and COVID-19 Pandemic.

In September 2020, an NCLC-led coalition of 21 consumer, faith, and advocacy groups sent a letter to the CFPB asking it to revoke its April 1, 2020, Policy Statement that outlines the responsibility of credit reporting companies and furnishers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

On March 25, 2021, an NCLC-led coalition of 15 consumer groups, mostly local, wrote to the CFPB asking again that the Burea revoke its April 1, 2020, Policy Statement that outlines the responsibility of credit reporting companies and furnishers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

On March 31, 2021, the CFPB announced that

it is rescinding seven policy statements issued last year that provided temporary flexibilities to financial institutions in consumer financial markets including mortgages, credit reporting, credit cards and prepaid cards. The seven rescissions, effective April 1, provide guidance to financial institutions on complying with their legal and regulatory obligations. With the rescissions, the CFPB is providing notice that it intends to exercise the full scope of the supervisory and enforcement authority provided under the Dodd-Frank Act. The CFPB is also rescinding its 2018 bulletin on supervisory communications and replacing it with a revised bulletin describing its use of matters requiring attention (MRAs) to effectively convey supervisory expectations.

In the announcement, CFPB Acting Director Dave Uejio said that “Providing regulatory flexibility to companies should not come at the expense of consumers. Because many financial institutions have developed more robust remote capabilities and demonstrated improved operations, it is no longer prudent to maintain these flexibilities. The CFPB’s first priority, today and always, is protecting consumers from harm.”

Among the documents issued March 31, 2021, by the CFPB is the Rescission of Statement of Policy on Supervisory and Enforcement Practices Regarding the Fair Credit Reporting Act and Regulation V in Light of the CARES Act, which rescinds the Bureau’s April 1, 2020 Statement on Supervisory and Enforcement Practices Regarding the Fair Credit Reporting Act and Regulation V in Light of the CARES Act.  The “rescission does not apply to the portion of the Statement that is under the heading ‘Furnishing Consumer Information Impacted by COVID-19,’” because “the Statement expressed the Bureau’s recognition of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the operations of many consumer reporting agencies and furnishers, including staffing and related resource challenges confronting consumer reporting agencies and furnishers and their counsel.”