12 U.S.C. § 5511 — Purpose, objectives, and functions

Page 1955 TITLE 12—BANKS AND BANKING § 5512 tion], or the amendments made by this subtitle, shall be construed to require the Bureau of Consumer Finan- cial Protection to collect or make publicly available additional information under the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 (12 U.S.C. 5481 et seq.), beyond in- formation that was collected or made publicly avail- able under that Act, as of the day before the date of en- actment of this Act [Dec. 23, 2022].’’ § 5499. Open data publication All public data assets published by the Bureau shall be— (1) made available as an open Government data asset (as defined in section 3502 of title 44); (2) freely available for download; (3) rendered in a human-readable format; and (4) accessible via application programming interface where appropriate. (Pub. L. 111–203, title X, § 1019, as added Pub. L. 117–263, div. E, title LVIII, § 5851(a)(2), Dec. 23, 2022, 136 Stat. 3433.) Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries RULE OF CONSTRUCTION REGARDING NO NEW DISCLOSURE REQUIREMENTS Enactment of section not to be construed to require certain additional information to be collected or dis- closed, see section 5853 of Pub. L. 117–263, set out as a note under section 5498 of this title. PART B—GENERAL POWERS OF THE BUREAU § 5511. Purpose, objectives, and functions (a) Purpose The Bureau shall seek to implement and, where applicable, enforce Federal consumer fi- nancial law consistently for the purpose of en- suring that all consumers have access to mar- kets for consumer financial products and serv- ices and that markets for consumer financial products and services are fair, transparent, and competitive. (b) Objectives The Bureau is authorized to exercise its au- thorities under Federal consumer financial law for the purposes of ensuring that, with respect to consumer financial products and services— (1) consumers are provided with timely and understandable information to make respon- sible decisions about financial transactions; (2) consumers are protected from unfair, de- ceptive, or abusive acts and practices and from discrimination; (3) outdated, unnecessary, or unduly burden- some regulations are regularly identified and addressed in order to reduce unwarranted reg- ulatory burdens; (4) Federal consumer financial law is en- forced consistently, without regard to the sta- tus of a person as a depository institution, in order to promote fair competition; and (5) markets for consumer financial products and services operate transparently and effi- ciently to facilitate access and innovation. (c) Functions The primary functions of the Bureau are— (1) conducting financial education programs; (2) collecting, investigating, and responding to consumer complaints; (3) collecting, researching, monitoring, and publishing information relevant to the func- tioning of markets for consumer financial products and services to identify risks to con- sumers and the proper functioning of such markets; (4) subject to sections 5514 through 5516 of this title, supervising covered persons for com- pliance with Federal consumer financial law, and taking appropriate enforcement action to address violations of Federal consumer finan- cial law; (5) issuing rules, orders, and guidance imple- menting Federal consumer financial law; and (6) performing such support activities as may be necessary or useful to facilitate the other functions of the Bureau. (Pub. L. 111–203, title X, § 1021, July 21, 2010, 124 Stat. 1979.) Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE Pub. L. 111–203, title X, § 1029A, July 21, 2010, 124 Stat. 2005, provided that: ‘‘This subtitle [subtitle B (§§ 1021–1029A), enacting this part] shall become effec- tive on the designated transfer date, except that sec- tions 1022, 1024, and 1025(e) [12 U.S.C. 5512, 5514, and 5515(e)] shall become effective on the date of enactment of this Act [July 21, 2010].’’ [The term ‘‘designated transfer date’’ is defined in section 5481(9) of this title as the date established under section 5582 of this title.] § 5512. Rulemaking authority (a) In general The Bureau is authorized to exercise its au- thorities under Federal consumer financial law to administer, enforce, and otherwise implement the provisions of Federal consumer financial law. (b) Rulemaking, orders, and guidance (1) General authority The Director may prescribe rules and issue orders and guidance, as may be necessary or appropriate to enable the Bureau to admin- ister and carry out the purposes and objectives of the Federal consumer financial laws, and to prevent evasions thereof. (2) Standards for rulemaking In prescribing a rule under the Federal con- sumer financial laws— (A) the Bureau shall consider— (i) the potential benefits and costs to consumers and covered persons, including the potential reduction of access by con- sumers to consumer financial products or services resulting from such rule; and (ii) the impact of proposed rules on cov- ered persons, as described in section 5516 of this title, and the impact on consumers in rural areas; (B) the Bureau shall consult with the ap- propriate prudential regulators or other Federal agencies prior to proposing a rule and during the comment process regarding consistency with prudential, market, or sys-