The CFPB has announced that it is ending its closed-door meeting policy for its four advisory groups and will open the meetings to the public. Those groups consist of the Community Bank Advisory Council, the Credit Union Advisory Council, the Academic Research Council, and the Consumer Advisory Board.

The CFPB has stated that the change is intended “to provide more transparency and to be responsive to the requests [for more openness] we’ve received.” We have long been critics of the lack of transparency surrounding the CFPB’s advisory groups. In calling for a change in the CFPB’s policy, we were joined by industry as well as by members of the House Financial Services Committee.

The CFPB also announced that it will implement the new policy beginning with the meeting of its Consumer Advisory Board scheduled for June 18, 2014 in Reno, Nevada. According to the CFPB, starting with that meeting, the public may attend or watch a livestream of its advisory groups’ meetings. At the June 18 meeting, Director Cordray will be discussing “trends and themes in the mortgage market and new resources available to consumers looking to buy a home.”