The Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection has adopted a final rule to clarify that supervisory guidance is not legally enforceable like laws or regulations. This rule, grounded in the 2018 Interagency Statement, ensures the Bureau will not take enforcement actions based on such guidance. The guidance serves as a tool to communicate expectations and improve industry understanding, but it does not create binding legal obligations. Some commenters supported the rule for providing clarity, while others expressed concerns about its impact on supervisory discretion.
Simple Explanation
The Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection made a rule saying that some advice they give, called supervisory guidance, is like friendly advice and can't be used as a must-follow law. This means banks and companies have to follow real laws, but this guidance just helps them understand what the rules mean better.