Bank of America Corp. will not oppose President Obama's push to create a Consumer Financial Protection Agency, a company spokesperson said this week. The stance sets the Charlotte, N.C.-based bank apart from most peers in the industry, which has aggressively opposed creating the agency since it was proposed in mid-2009.
The American Bankers Association has come out strongly against the proposed CFPA. JPMorgan Chase & Co. CEO Jamie Dimon, during his company's fourth quarter earnings call, said he opposed it, too. Critics have argued that the regulatory authority that would be given to the CFPA can be exercised by existing agencies, such as the Federal Trade Commission.
But Bank of America spokesperson James Mahoney said the bank will not actively lobby against, or for, the plan, Reuters first reported. He said the banking giant's stance is not a policy shift, but in line with the bank's existing consumer-friendly push.
Mahoney says the proposed CFPA's goal of overseeing banks' products and services for transparency and consumer fairness are principles Bank of America already was adopting. Last year, the bank pushed to simplify overdraft fees and polices, as well as improve mortgage and credit card disclosures, though some of those changes were made to match new laws passed by Congress set to take effect this year.
For more about the CFPA and how the collection industry feels about it, read Lawmakers Lukewarm on Reform, Feb. 4.