Home >> Daily Dose >> CFPB: Name Changes and Bottom Lines
Print This Post Print This Post

CFPB: Name Changes and Bottom Lines

The name change for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has been put on hold for now by Kathy Kraninger, the agency's new director, reversing a decision of her predecessor, Acting Director, Mick Mulvaney, of renaming the bureau to the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (BCFP).

According to the Washington Examiner, in a memo to agency staff, Kraninger said, "As of December 17, 2018, I have officially halted ongoing efforts to make changes to existing products and materials related to the name correction initiative."

“The name ‘Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’ and the existing CFPB logo will continue to be used for all other materials,” Kraninger said in her memo. “In other words, we have a legal name but will be using our colloquial name and the branded acronym ‘CFPB.’”

However, she noted that the Bureau's official seal and the BCFP name would continue to be used in all of the agency's legal filings, required reports, and items specific to her office.

Kraninger's memo comes a day after Sen. Elizabeth Warren called for an investigation into the attempted name change. “Changing the agency’s name and acronym would make it harder for consumers to find the agency’s website, file complaints, and seek help,” Warren said in a letter to the Fed and the CFPB requesting the inquiry.

The bureau's changed name had been at the center of much speculation over the past few weeks. Just before Kraninger's confirmation, an article in the Hill had cited an internal analysis that found that a name change would have cost the agency approximately $19 million and financial firms approximately $300 million in expenses for changing the agency's name from CFPB to BCFP on their databases and documents.

In April this year, Acting Director, Mick Mulvaney had announced plans to alter the bureau's name to the one that was used when the agency was originally created under the Dodd-Frank Act in 2010. “I’m trying to get in the habit of now saying the ‘BCFP,’” Mulvaney had said at an industry event at that time. “The CFPB doesn’t exist,” he added. “The CFPB has never existed.”

About Author: Radhika Ojha

Radhika Ojha is an independent writer and editor. A former Online Editor and currently a reporter for MReport, she is a graduate of the University of Pune, India, where she received her B.A. in Commerce with a concentration in Accounting and Marketing and an M.A. in Mass Communication. Upon completion of her master’s degree, Ojha worked at a national English daily publication in India (The Indian Express) where she was a staff writer in the cultural and arts features section. Ojha also worked as Principal Correspondent at HT Media Ltd and at Honeywell as an executive in corporate communications. She and her husband currently reside in Houston, Texas.
x

Check Also

Survey: Homeownership Remains Elusive for Baby Boomer Renters

A recent look into housing affordability by NeighborWorks America has found that three in five long-term baby boomer renters feel homeownership remains unattainable.