Report: Feds pull back from investigating Equifax hack

The former S.C. congressman tasked with protecting financial consumers is pulling back from a full investigation of last year’s massive Equifax hack.

Reuters reports Mick Mulvaney, named by President Donald Trump as the temporary head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, has not ordered subpoenas of Equifax or sought sworn testimony from its executives.

The agency also has shelved plans to test how the credit-reporting giant protects its customers’ data, according to Reuters’ sources.

The consumer bureau’s former director had ordered an investigation into Equifax last year after a cyberattack on the company exposed the personal information of 143 million people to hackers.

But, in November, Trump appointed Mulvaney, the White House budget director, to lead the consumer bureau. Since then, sources in the agency say the investigation has stalled.

Bank regulators at the Federal Reserve, Federal Deposit Insurance Corp and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency have offered to help with on-site exams of credit bureaus, but those offers have reportedly been declined by the CFPB.

Bureau spokesman John Czwartacki told Reuters the agency could not acknowledge an open investigation, but said the agency has the tools necessary to “vigorously pursue hypothetical matters such as these.”

The CFPB is not the only federal agency looking into the hack. The Federal Trade Commission has confirmed it is investigating the company and could assess financial penalties against Equifax.

Last month, Mulvaney was accused of dropping an investigation into a S.C.-based company that previously had donated to his congressional campaigns.

This story was originally published February 5, 2018 at 2:10 PM with the headline "Report: Feds pull back from investigating Equifax hack."