Banking on Intelligence: David Pommerehn on Regulatory Challenges and the Future of Consumer Banking 

In this episode of Banking on Intelligence, nCino's Brandon Lokits sits down with David Pommerehn, SVP, General Counsel and Head of Regulatory Affairs at the Consumer Bankers Association, to explore the evolving regulatory landscape and its impact on financial institutions. 

Meet David Pommerehn and the Consumer Bankers Association 

David Pommerehn serves as SVP, General Counsel and Head of Regulatory Affairs at the Consumer Bankers Association (CBA), a federal-level association based in Washington, D.C. The CBA represents banks supervised by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), with membership spanning from $10 billion institutions to trillion-dollar banks. In his role, Pommerehn interfaces with federal regulatory agencies, advocating for optimal policy positions in consumer banking and small business sectors while working closely with key congressional committees including the Senate Banking Committee and House Financial Services Committee. 

Brandon Lokits with David Pommerehn

Key Insights: An Abbreviated Q&A 

Brandon Lokits: What are some of the challenges that you're seeing across the industry today, maybe some of the headwinds? 

David Pommerehn: Lately, it's been very focused on the regulatory compliance world. And this kind of pendulum swing that we see from administration to administration, almost to the point where it's a night and day regulatory environment. The regulatory agencies in D.C. were very aggressive under the Biden administration, to a point where that was probably more politically ideologically driven than it should have been. Banking regulation should really be focused on market failures and actual harm, and not on presumed harm and presumed market failures or political ideological positions. That extreme swing from the Biden administration now back to the Trump administration—it's the widest I've seen yet. 

Brandon Lokits: How can financial institutions stay with those changes? Any thoughts on how banking can be made better from that regulatory vantage point? 

David Pommerehn: When it comes to things like fair lending analysis, the new administration has essentially done away with what is called disparate impact analysis. Our member institutions say, okay, we're not going to be supervised for this, but what happens in three or four years when we are supervised for this?  So, they're in this purgatory of regulation. It's a difficult road to navigate. Our banks are sophisticated, and we have been through this before. They're going to do their best to do what they think is right and do what they think is going to be supervised and examined for five years from now when there's a possible different administration. 

Brandon Lokits: If you were to pull out your crystal ball and look at five years, perhaps ten years down the line, any thoughts on where you think that regulation might be headed? 

David Pommerehn: I would like to see it level set. The rules should be written in a way that are accomplishing what they're intended to do. The CFPB being kind of a fledgling agency—it's only 15 years old or so at this point—it's not as deep rooted and established as the Federal Reserve Board or the FDIC or the OCC. And it tends to act more on the political spectrum than those other agencies do. In five more years, I'm hoping that the CFPB becomes a little more grown up and a little more stable and consistent and durable. We want to see the CFPB go into the future. We need it to be credible. We need it to be durable. 

Our Take 

David Pommerehn's insights illuminate one of the most pressing challenges facing financial institutions today: navigating regulatory uncertainty while maintaining operational excellence and customer focus. His concept of "regulatory purgatory" resonates with the reality many banks face being caught between current deregulatory trends and the anticipation of future regulatory swings. 

This uncertainty underscores the critical importance of robust, adaptable technology infrastructure. The nCino Platform addresses these challenges by providing institutions with comprehensive compliance capabilities that can adapt to evolving regulatory requirements without requiring complete system overhauls. By centralizing compliance processes and maintaining detailed audit trails, the platform enables banks to demonstrate adherence to current regulations while positioning themselves for future regulatory changes. 

The challenge of regulatory consistency that Pommerehn identifies is a  policy issue and a technology challenge that requires solutions capable of adapting to an evolving landscape. As the banking industry continues to navigate these transitions, partnerships with technology providers who understand both the current regulatory environment and the need for future flexibility become increasingly valuable. 

Banking on Intelligence is nCino's thought leadership series featuring conversations with industry leaders about the future of financial services. To learn more about how nCino can help your institution build durable compliance frameworks that adapt to regulatory changes, schedule a demo today.