CFPB terminates Upstart no-action letter

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said it terminated Upstart Network from its list of approved “no-action letters” at Upstart’s request.

Upstart NAL: The CFPB previously exempted the lender from being charged with fair lending law violations with respect to its underwriting algorithm while the NAL remained in force. Upstart provides bank partners with a proprietary, cloud-based lending platform.

Background: NALs are a form of enforcement discretion in which an agency says it will not take an enforcement action against the submitting party for the specific conduct presented to the agency.

Change in Direction: The announcement follows the CFPB’s recent launch of a new Office of Competition and Innovation to replace its Office of Innovation. That change shuttered an office designed to provide approved companies with a regulatory safe harbor—through NALs and sandboxes—to test their products.