Defining Larger Participants of the Consumer Debt Collection Market

The Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (Bureau) amends the regulation defining larger participants of certain consumer financial product and service markets by adding a new section to define larger participants of a market for consumer debt collection. The final rule thereby facilitates the supervision of nonbank covered persons active in that market. The Bureau is issuing the final rule pursuant to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. That law grants the Bureau authority to supervise certain nonbank covered persons for compliance with Federal consumer financial law and for other purposes. The Bureau has the authority to supervise nonbank covered persons of all sizes in the residential mortgage, private education lending, and payday lending markets. In addition, the Bureau has the authority to supervise nonbank "larger participant[s]" of markets for other consumer financial products or services, as the Bureau defines by rule. An initial rule defining larger participants of a market for consumer reporting was published in the Federal Register on July 20, 2012 (Consumer Reporting Rule).