Official Who Wants to “Wipe Out” Merchant Cash Advance Will Be Next CFPB Head

Rohit Chopra, an FTC Commissioner, will take over as head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau under incoming President Joe Biden, sources say.

Chopra’s name made the rounds in 2020 when he told NBC News that he was looking for a “systemic solution” that can “wipe out” all merchant cash advance companies.

His candid comments aligned with an official statement he put out in August in which he opined that the structure of MCAs “may be a sham since many of these products require fixed daily payments…”

He further added that there were “serious questions as to whether these merchant cash advance products are actually closed-end installment loans, subject to federal and state protections including anti-discrimination laws, such as the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, and usury caps.”

His transfer to the CFPB could be viewed as unwelcome news for the MCA industry as the agency is currently in the process of finalizing the types of financial institutions it believes it should maintain some jurisdiction over. Originally, MCA companies were poised to be excluded from the data reporting requirement set forth by Section 1071 of Dodd-Frank but that could very well soon change.

Sean Murray is the President and Chief Editor of deBanked and the founder of the Broker Fair Conference. Connect with me on LinkedIn or follow me on twitter. You can view all future deBanked events here.