Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge met with the federal government’s chief consumer advocate Richard Cordray on Wednesday about a host of issues including proposed regulations on payday loans.
The meeting between the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s director and the state’s Republican attorney general comes a day before the CFPB’s Consumer Advisory Board is to discuss an auto lending education program and payday lending at the Statehouse Convention Center in Little Rock.
In a statement Rutledge says she “appreciated the opportunity” but continued to push for a conference of states to discuss proposed regulations prior to implementation.
“I reiterated my request that Director Cordray hold a conference of states to discuss the proposed federal standards for credit lines, installment loans, deposit advances, automobile-title secured loans and payday loans. I made clear that holding such a conference is the right thing to do anytime a federal rule is going to supplant the reasonable policy choices of either Arkansas or other states. Based on the meeting, I am optimistic that Director Cordray will meet with a group of Attorneys General soon to discuss the proposed federal standards.”
CFPB regulations proposed earlier this month would require lenders verify a borrower’s income before issuing a short-term high interest loan. Previously, Rutledge has expressed opposition to some of the proposed federal regulations saying the regulatory power should be left to individual states.
The CFPB was established in 2011 under the Dodd-Frank Act. Director Richard Cordray is the first to hold the position.
