Happy Holidays: CFPB Advisory Opinions!
December 7, 2020
Authored by: Samantha Goldberg-Seder and Benjamin Saul
On November 30, 2020, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) set forth procedures for the issuance of advisory opinions provided as interpretive rules to resolve regulatory uncertainty, effective immediately. Under this new advisory opinion schema, the CFPB concurrently released two advisory opinions: one on earned wage access products and one on private education loans.
Advisory Opinions

A request for an advisory opinion must include:
- Identity of the person or entity seeking the opinion, or the person or entity submitted a request on behalf of a third part (e.g., outside counsel, in which case clients need not be identified);
- Statement about the absence of investigation or litigation;
- All material facts about an actual fact or course of action that is (a) within the CFPB’s purview and (b) that the person or entity is engaged in or is planning to engage in;
- A description of the uncertainty or ambiguity, including (a) identification of the regulatory or statutory provision at issue; (c) a proposed interpretation of the law or regulation; and (d) an explanation of why that proposed interpretation is an appropriate resolution of the uncertainty or ambiguity;
- Identification of information that should be treated as confidential.
Each advisory opinion will be specific to the facts provided, which the CFPB will not generally investigate independently, making it important that the request include a clear description of any material facts. Where the advisory opinion permits for a safe harbor, as provided for in the Truth in Lending Act (“TILA”), Equal Credit Opportunity Act, Electronic Fund Transfer Act, Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act, and Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, that fact will be explained in the advisory opinion. The scope and terms of an advisory opinion will be set out in the advisory opinion itself.
The CFPB will weigh multiple factors in determining whether to issue an advisory opinion on a specific topic, including issues that it has previously noted that are of significant importance or where clarification would provide significant benefit, and where the CFPB has not previously addressed a highlighted ambiguity. Conversely, the CFPB may decide an advisory opinion is not the appropriate tool for responding to an inquiry. In particular, issues where the CFPB is actively investigating or enforcing a related matter or a rulemaking is proposed or being planned.