The consumer finance watchdog is undoing its own rules for how it investigates companies

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau wants to cancel changes it made in 2022 and 2023 to its internal rules for investigations. This means the agency would go back to its older, less formal process for handling complaints and enforcement actions.

The agency is effectively making it easier for itself to investigate and take action against companies. The changes it made in 2022 and 2023 added more formal steps, like requiring a judge to approve settlements. Removing those steps means the agency can act more quickly and with less external oversight.