The CFPB announced that it has begun sharing consumer complaints with state regulators via a “secure channel that protects the confidentiality of personally identifiable information.” The CFPB’s plans to create a secure website through which state regulators can access the Bureau’s complaint system were discussed by the Federal Reserve Board’s Office of the Inspector General in its October 2012 evaluation of the CFPB’s Consumer Response unit, which is responsible for managing the complaint system. 

In its announcement, the CFPB also stated that it plans to build ways “to accept complaints and information” from state regulators and “to make the data available to other federal agencies, state attorneys general, local agencies, congressional offices as appropriate, and other governmental organizations like the California Monitor (a program of the California Attorney General) and the Office of Mortgage Settlement Oversight.” 

The CFPB’s sharing of complaints appears to be part of an overall effort by the CFPB to leverage its resources by “deputizing” state and local agencies.  Another recent example of such leveraging is the CFPB’s information-sharing agreement with the City of Chicago.