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Interim final rule inappropriate for personal financial data rights rule
Issuing an interim final rule (IFR) for its personal financial data rights (PFDR) rule would truncate the public comment process for one of the CFPB's most technical and complex rules. In a letter to acting CFPB Director Russell Vought Thursday, America’s Credit Unions urged the CFPB to go through the regular rulemaking process to alleviate potential complications.
The outreach from America’s Credit Unions follows CFPB’s indication in a recent court filing that it would make efforts to issue an interim final PFDR rule before funding runs out in early 2026. The CFPB announced in November it could not legally request funds from the Federal Reserve based on an opinion provided by the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Office of Legal Counsel, and later transferred enforcement actions to the DOJ.
“The CFPB’s plan to make progress on the PFDR Rule before reduced funding affects operations is commendable; however, the use of an IFR may result in the publication of a de-facto final rule if the agency lacks the resources to respond to additional stakeholder input in 2026,” the letter reads. “Such an approach may be hazardous from the standpoint of locking in policy decisions that cannot be easily reconsidered in the absence of agency rulemaking resources.”
The letter outlines further concerns and states that given the complexity of reengineering a regulatory right of access for data exchange, a full notice and comment rulemaking would be more appropriate. Depending on the scope of proposed changes, the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Act might also be applicable and require the CFPB to convene a small business panel to consider the cost impacts.
The CFPB originally finalized the PFDR rule in 2024 and included many burdensome, inequitable, and risky provisions in it. The bureau announced its advanced notice of rulemaking in July, marking the start of an accelerated rulemaking process to revise the PFDR under the new administration.