In an earlier posting, my colleague Mercedes Tunstall reported on the CFPB’s announcement that prior to the designated transfer date (July 21, 2011), it had put in place memoranda of understanding (MOUs) with various other federal agencies. Mercedes also reported that to her dismay, she could not locate copies of those MOUs in any of the usual places such as the Federal Register. However, we have now seen copies of the CFPB’s pre-July 21 MOUs with the FDIC and the OCC concerning the sharing of non-public information. (We understand the copies were obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request.) The MOUs, which are substantially the same, are directed at the sharing of confidential information about depository institutions, such as examination reports and other supervisory information, prior to July 21 (and, pursuant to an Addendum, the CFPB and FDIC agreed that sharing of information under their MOU can continue until November 18, 2011.) We find it interesting that the MOUs carved out consumer complaints provided by the CFPB to the FDIC or OCC from the “non-public information” covered by the MOUs’ confidentiality provisions. Given the limited scope of the MOUs, it seems likely new MOUs have or will be put in place to deal with the ongoing sharing of confidential information. And we continue to wonder why, as an agency that has made transparency its mantra, the CFPB hasn’t made all of the missing MOUs and any other MOUs with other agencies public or offered an explanation for its apparent decision not to release them.
