The CFPB’s Enforcement of the Prohibition on Abusive Acts and Practices

In the Dodd-Frank Act, Congress added a prohibition on “abusive” conduct to the long-established ban on unfair and deceptive acts and practices (UDAAP) in consumer financial transactions. In our first article, we articulated an approach to interpreting this new standard that is grounded in its text and legislative history, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Richard Cordray’s testimony on the subject and kindred legal doctrines 23 DER B-1, 2/4/15.

This article reviews the Bureau’s enforcement cases to see if the Bureau’s use (or non-use) of the “abusive” standard provides further clarity. Director Cordray had suggested that the Bureau’s early cases ...