CFPB halts name change after revelation that it could cost millions of dollars

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau was considering changing its name. It was going to be a rather minor change, but apparently it was going to come with a big price tag, according to the Washington Examiner. Now, that change has been put on hold.

What was the change going to be? The agency, which is the brainchild by Sen. Elizabeth Warren and created during the Obama administration, was going to be renamed the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection. The decision to rename the bureau was reportedly made by previous director Mick Mulvaney.

What was the cost? So just how much was it going to cost to move a few words around? According to an internal analysis by the CFPB, it would cost between $9 and $19 million. The costs would include legal filings and changes to documents, buildings, and other materials. It could also be costly to banks and other agencies that work with the CFPB.

What did Warren have to say about it? "In addition to the costs imposed on the banking industry, the name change would also put a serious dent in the agency's budget, taking funding away from efforts that would actually benefit consumers," wrote Warren in a letter to the Federal Reserve's inspector general. "The CFPB leadership has requested a 17% cut in total funding for [fiscal year] 2019 – and these new name change-related expenses would come out of the already limited funding request for the agency."

Who decided to halt the change? New CFPB director Kathy Kraninger announced Wednesday that the change would no longer proceed.

"As of December 17, 2018, I have officially halted all ongoing efforts to make changes to existing products and materials related to the name correction initiative," she wrote to staff.

Still, some remnants of the almost-change will exist. The organization's new name will be used for legal filings but "CFPB" will remain in use for the most part as the organization's name and acronym.