Law360 quoted Venable of counsel Jonathan Pompan in an article on November 21, 2012, on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's (CFPB) efforts to foster innovation through Project Catalyst, which was announced recently at an event in Silicon Valley. Project Catalyst involves two parts – in the first part, companies can bring new products to the bureau for review, and in the second, companies and the CFPB work collaboratively to analyze consumer data.
Pompan said that collaboration with the CFPB can be helpful for creating rules for existing products, adding that "Having the opportunity to get feedback from government regulators is almost always a welcome opportunity."
He explained, however, that "on top of the market sector, the industry still does not trust the CFPB, in part because of the aggressive stance the bureau has taken on many issues since its inception." Despite this mistrust, Pompan said companies will likely collaborate with the CFPB because "working with the CFPB could essentially be the equivalent of the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval, even if the bureau does not intend for it to have such an effect."