Responding to a call from the US Treasury, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and the American Fintech Council (AFC) have both weighed in on the use of AI in financial services.
Replying to a Treasury request for information on the uses, opportunities, and risks of artificial intelligence in the financial services sector, the CFPB stresses that regulators have a "legal mandate" to ensure that existing rules are enforced with respect to all technologies, including new ones such as AI.
"Although institutions sometimes behave as if there are exceptions to the federal consumer financial protection laws for new technologies, that is not the case," writes the CFPB.
The agency warns against the so-called "Uber" model of providing services without complying with the law and “wait[ing] for the legal system to catch up”.
Meanwhile, industry group the AFC is calling for a “unified and cohesive” regulatory framework that would preempt a patchwork of state laws and create room for uses of AI that exceed states’ regulatory jurisdictions.
“A unified federal approach would streamline regulatory requirements, providing clarity and consistency that would enable financial institutions to leverage AI technologies more effectively,” writes Ian Moloney, SVP and head of policy and regulatory affairs in the AFC’s letter to the Treasury.
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