Much attention has been devoted to the issuance very soon of the CFPB’s small-dollar lending rule.  I thought that once that rule was issued, Richard Cordray would soon thereafter resign as Director to return to Ohio to run for Governor.  However, based on a very reliable source, I now believe that Director Cordray will issue a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking regarding Part I of the debt collection rule (“NPR”) before he resigns.  I believe that the NPR will be issued during September.  Perhaps, that shouldn’t be considered a surprise since the CFPB’s Spring 2017 rulemaking agenda did give a September 2017 estimated date for the issuance of a proposed debt collection rule.  Since the CFPB has a track record for missing estimated deadlines in its rulemaking agendas, I did not think that the CFPB would meet the September 2017 deadline for the proposed debt collection rule.

On June 8, 2017 during the last meeting of the CFPB’s Consumer Advisory Board, Director Cordray revealed a new plan regarding the debt collection rulemaking.  He indicated that Part I of the debt collection rulemaking will concern disclosures by third-party debt collectors and how consumers are treated by third-party debt collectors.  Part II of the debt collection rulemaking will cover the subject of collecting the right amount from the right consumer.  Part II is expected to cover both first-party and third-party debt collectors.