On April 13, 2012 the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) released a bulletin announcing its policy on the use and supervision of service providers. The CFPB expects those it regulates to pay close attention to the service providers they utilize to ensure they comply with federal consumer protection laws to ensure consumer’s interests are protected and they are not harmed by misconduct.
The CFPB understands that supervised entities utilize service providers for many reasons. They list resource constraints, development of additional products and services, and reliance on expertise from service providers as reasons a supervised entity may utilize a service provider. The CFPB emphasizes that merely entering into a contract with a service provider does not absolve a supervised entity of any responsibility to comply with federal law or ensure consumer safety with respect to that particular service. They expect both parties, the service provider and the supervised entity to take responsibility for consumer protection and compliance.
Under Title X of the Dodd-Frank law the CFPB is granted supervisory enforcement over service providers that provide services to supervised entities. This means the CFPB will examine and request reports from many service providers. The CFPB will also enter into enforcement activities against service providers where necessary. They expect the supervised entities to make sure they have risk management processes in place to monitor the activities of their service providers.
DocuTech understands our customers rely on us to provide reliable products and services. DocuTech has always maintained the highest standards when it comes to compliance. We also maintain policies, procedures and general oversight of our business to ensure that DocuTech provides services focused consumer safety and protection. As we all enter into a new era of supervision DocuTech reaffirms its commitment to provide customers with services they can trust.
For more information visit: http://files.consumerfinance.gov/f/201204_cfpb_bulletin_service-providers.pdf