The ACA issued its response to the CFPB’s Announced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking.  In its comment letter, the ACA suggested a number of considerations that it believes should guide CFPB’s development of new regulations designed to modernize the FDCPA:

• Any new rules should recognize the industry’s diversity, namely the types of debt being collected and the nature and size of the nation’s debt collectors;
• Rulemakings should be proportionate to the circumstances and industry participants that give rise to the need for the proposed rulemakings;
• In addition to promulgating new rules, the ACA urged the CFPB to address “outdated, unnecessary or unduly burdensome legal requirements under the [FDCPA].”
• The CFPB should also endeavor to provide rules that provide “maximum clarity” for the development of firm policies as well as model language for disclosures and debtor correspondence
• The ACA also encouraged the CFPB to give serious consideration to “safe harbors” from regulatory enforcement and private civil litigation where appropriate

The FDPCA rulemaking will consume much of the Bureau’s Regulations Division’s attention for the remainder of the year, and the industry should expect proposed rules at some point later this year or in 2015.