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Consumer Protection Bureau, regulators reach deal on non-bank lending

Jan 10, 2011 Todd Milner

The Consumer Protection Bureau and state regulators reached a deal on Friday that will provide the oversight body and state-level consumer protection agencies more authority to monitor and manage non-traditional credit institutions such as short term lenders. Elizabeth Warren, who was authorized in July to organize the newly-created bureau, announced that the deal will improve lines of communication between state regulators, and state and federal officials, The New York Times reports. The U.S. Treasury Department announced that the bureau will process information regarding non-traditional credit lenders previously monitored at the state level, Bloomberg detailed. "The new consumer financial agency and the state banking regulators are forging an alliance to protect American families," Warren said during a speech on Tuesday. Warren added the goal of the new regulations is to ensure that all non-traditional credit sources and traditional banks operate under consistent guidelines and to "minimize regulatory burden and to efficiently deploy regulatory resources." According to a report from The Wall Street Journal, there were 20,600 short term lending centers in the United States in 2009, which issued $38.5 billion in loans.