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Much has been written about Rohit Chopra’s tenure as
Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or
Bureau). While many expected an aggressive enforcement posture, in
part because of an aggressive hiring spree in enforcement, his
tenure has been marked more by an aggressive use of guidance and
exhortation. Recently released statistics bear this out. In
response to a FOIA request, the CFPB released data about the number
of enforcement investigations opened in Fiscal Year 2022, which is
roughly equivalent to Chopra’s first full year as Director.
(New enforcement investigations are non-public unless and until
they blossom into enforcement actions, typically a year or more
after they are opened. The data discussed here relate to the number
of investigations opened, not the number of actions brought.) That
data demonstrates that the Bureau opened only 25 new enforcement
investigations in the last fiscal year—fewer than in any year
since FY2019, when Mick Mulvaney and Kathleen Kraninger served as
Directors. Below is a table showing the number of enforcement
investigations opened in each Fiscal Year, according to data
released by the CFPB.
| Fiscal Year | Enforcement Investigations Opened | Director(s) |
| 2017 | 63 | Cordray |
| 2018 | 15 | Mulvaney |
| 2019 | 20 | Mulvaney/Kraninger |
| 2020 | 54 | Kraninger |
| 2021 | 64 | Kraninger/Uejio |
| 2022 | 25 | Chopra |
Other data released by the CFPB shows a mild drop in the number
and percent of supervisory matters referred to enforcement during
the same time period. In FY2022, the CFPB referred 45 supervisory
matters to its Action Review Committee (ARC) for consideration as
to whether the matter should be referred to enforcement. Nine of
those 45 matters—or 20%—were referred at least in part
to enforcement. That is slightly lower than the agency’s
historical average of referring about 29% of ARC matters at least
in part to enforcement.
It will be interesting to see if these trends continue or if the
agency ramps up its enforcement activity in the coming years. We
will continue to monitor and report on these issues.
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