The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's Chief Legal Officer, Mark Paoletta, issued an internal memorandum on 16 April 2025 directing a 50% reduction in the number of supervisory examination events conducted by the bureau. The directive also rescinded all prior enforcement priorities.
The document instructs examiners to focus on what it describes as tangible harms to consumers rather than on matters based on the bureau's perception that consumers had made 'wrong' choices.
FINTECH ENFORCEMENT
The memo also instructs staff to de-prioritise enforcement actions against fintech firms. The CFPB had in recent years expanded its oversight of non-bank financial technology companies, exercising supervisory authority over payments platforms, buy-now-pay-later providers, and digital wallet operators. The memo directs supervisory capacity toward large depository institutions rather than emerging technology firms.
The memo also calls for a shift toward state-led enforcement as a complement to — and in some cases a substitute for — federal action.