WASHINGTON, D.C. -

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau recently revealed a proposed rule that would codify protections for privileged information submitted to the bureau by the financial institutions it regulates.

Back in January, the CFPB advised the institutions it supervises that the submission of privileged information to the CFPB does not waive any applicable privilege with respect to third parties.

Officials explained the proposed rule is intended to provide supervised entities further assurances that providing privileged information to the bureau will not adversely affect the confidentiality of such information. 

The CFPB also insisted the proposed rule clarifies that the bureau’s transfer of privileged information to another federal or state agency does not result in a waiver of any applicable privilege.

“This is a common sense rule that is consistent with our practice of guarding the confidentiality of the information of the institutions we supervise,” stated CFPB director Richard Cordray.

“This rule will allow us to further protect consumers by facilitating the flow of information between the Bureau and its supervised entities.”

The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act provided the CFPB with the authority to issue rules necessary or appropriate to enable the bureau to fulfill its obligations to protect consumers of financial products and services, and specifically provided the bureau with authority to issue rules regarding the confidential treatment of information obtained by the bureau.

The proposed rule is open for comment for 30 days after the rule is published in the Federal Register.

A copy of the proposed rule has been submitted to the Office of the Federal Register and is available at http://www.consumerfinance.gov/notice-and-comment/.