CFPB releases ambitious Regulatory Agenda
The CFPB has released an ambitious Spring Regulatory Agenda that lists 24 regulatory initiatives the bureau has been and/or will be working on during the 12-month period from June 2025 through May 2026 as well as one long term action.
“The CFPB is under interim leadership pending the confirmation of a permanent director, and is carefully considering various sources in setting its future priorities,” the agency said. However, no permanent director has yet been nominated since the withdrawal of the nomination of Jonathan McKernan.
Pre-Rule Stage.
The agenda contains nine items in the Pre-Rule stage, which generally indicates that the agency is considering addressing an issue. The Bureau has previously submitted filings with OMB about three of those initiatives, its Mortgage Loan Originator Compensation Rule and its Discretionary Mortgage Servicing Rules under RESPA and TILA. It has also issued advance notices of proposed rulemaking addressing four of those initiatives, its Larger Participant Rules for the Automobile Financing, Consumer Debt Collection, Consumer Credit Reporting, and Money Transfer markets.
Proposed Rule Stage.
The agenda contains ten items in the Proposed Rule stage, which generally indicates that the CFPB plans to issue a proposal. The Bureau has already issued notices of proposed rulemaking addressing four of those initiatives. One involves the proposed rescission of an existing rule, namely, the Registry of Nonbank Persons Subject to Certain Agency and Court Orders Rule. Three involve the reconsideration of existing rules, namely, the Payday, Vehicle, Title and Certain High-Cost Installment Loans Rule (also known as the Payday Loan Rule or the Small Dollar Loan Rule) , the Personal Financial Data Rights Rule (also known as the Section 1033 Rule) , and the Small Business Data Collection Under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act Rule (also known as the Section 1071 Rule). One initiative, not yet the subject of a proposed rule, would involve “clarifying the obligations imposed by” the ECOA, which may signal a review by the Bureau of the extent to which the ECOA encompasses a disparate impact theory of liability.
Final Rule Stage.
The agenda contains five items in the Final Rule stage, which generally means that the Bureau is preparing or has prepared a final rule. The Bureau indicated, however, that in one case, involving the Rescission of State Official Notification Rules, it “expects” to withdraw a final rule that it previously issued because of significant adverse comments it received. It did so, effective July 21.
Long-Term Initiatives.
Separately, the Bureau also identified one potential long-term initiative, namely monitoring the residential mortgage loan market to determine whether any further adjustments are required to its Ability to Pay and Qualified Mortgage definitions in Regulation Z.
We plan to discuss Prerule, Proposed Rule, Final Rule and Long-Term Initiatives in more detail in subsequent posts. For now, we would note that, even though many of these items are deregulatory in nature, this is still an ambitious agenda for an agency expected to undergo significant reductions in staffing..
In that regard, an affidavit previously filed in the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) case by Mark Paoletta, the CFPB’s chief legal officer, said that as part of its plan to eliminate more than 1,400 jobs at the bureau, the Trump Administration was proposing to decrease the Research Monitoring and Regulations Division from 230 employees to 22 employees. Three employees would be assigned to the Research Division and ten would be assigned to the Regulations Division.
However, the Bureau has not yet been able to move forward with those cuts. The District Court in the NTEU case issued a preliminary injunction which, among other things, precluded the CFPB from implementing them. Even though a panel of the D.C. Circuit vacated that preliminary injunction, by a 2-1 majority, the mandate for the panel’s decision has not yet issued. The Bureau’s ability to move forward with those cuts will depend on whether the NTEU successfully petitions for en banc review by the D.C. Circuit or Supreme Court review.
In the meantime, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, P.L. 119-21, significantly curtailed the CFPB’s budget. As a result, according to Bloomberg Law, the CFPB’s Office of Human Capital has just sent an email to all employees advising that the Bureau is “evaluat[ing] workplace optimization opportunities” and “considering a possible reduction in force.”
This agenda is raising eyebrows across the consumer financial services industry. On November 4, Ballard Spahr will present a must-watch webinar breaking down this ambitious plan.
Here’s why this webinar about the Agenda is a must-watch event:
- 24 separate rulemaking items – the largest number in CFPB history.
- A shrinking rulewriting staff and budget–- expected to be only 10 lawyers after an anticipated reduction-in-force – raising serious doubts about whether such an ambitious plan can be achieved.
- A number of these items may actually be opposed by industry even though they purport to be deregulatory.
What does this mean for your business? Which proposals are most likely to move forward? And which may stall out?
Join us as we break it all down.
Why You Should Attend:
- Get insider analysis of the most important items on the Agenda
- Understand how staffing and budgetary shortages may affect rulemaking and compliance timelines
- Learn how to prepare for regulatory uncertainty in a changing political climate.
Don’t miss this opportunity to get ahead of the CFPB’s most ambitious Agenda yet.
November 4, 2025
12:00-1:30PM ET
