Mick Mulvaney, acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, signaled that he will make the consumer complaints database private, during a speech at an American Bankers Association conference last month.
“I don’t see anything in here that says I have to make all of this public,” Mulvaney said. “We are going to maintain the consumer database — it is mandated by law, [but] I don’t see anything in here that I have to run a Yelp for financial services, sponsored by the federal government.”
Auto Finance News analysis revealed that 2017 set another record for auto-related complaints in the database; lenders received 7,423 complaints last year, up from 7,025 in the year prior. Santander Consumer USA received the most complaints — 901 — and when portfolio size is accounted for, Credit Acceptance Corp. had the highest volume – 43 – per $1 billion in outstandings.
“We have a robust complaint-management process that includes documentation, research, and resolution of all complaints, as well as complaint analysis, so that we can improve our business processes and customer satisfaction,” a Santander spokeswoman told AFN in a statement.
The industry has long bemoaned the database as a place where unsubstantiated accusations are slung at lenders. “Publishing unverified complaints — or worse, using those complaints to paint a picture of guilt in the public domain — is irresponsible,” Consumer Bankers Association Chief Executive Richard Hunt said in a public statement.
Yet, Ira Rheingold, executive director of the National Association of Consumer Advocates, told AFN, “It’s a check on lenders who are complying with the law but [the companies] don’t want it to be that public — they don’t want to be held accountable.”
Since the CFPB opened a comment period for the database earlier this month, it has received 16 responses; the deadline for submission is July 16.
