As the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau reported that it handled approximately 27,000 complaints in October, four industry associations delivered a letter this week to the Senate’s top leaders, urging the bureau’s structure be modified to create a five-person, bipartisan board.

The letter addressed to Sen. Mitch McConnell, the majority leader, and Sen. Chuck Schumer, who has been elected to be the chamber’s minority leader, came from the Consumer Bankers Association, the Credit Union National Association, the Independent Community Bankers of America and the National Association of Federal Credit Unions

“The CFPB is an independent regulatory agency that provides the sole director unprecedented authority over financial institutions, with minimal oversight,” the quartet said. “As the sole decision maker, the director can promulgate regulations and levy enforcement actions that have sweeping and long-lasting effects on credit availability for consumers. The current single director structure leads to regulatory uncertainty for consumers, industry, and the economy.

“In contrast, a Senate confirmed, bipartisan board or commission will provide a balanced and deliberative approach to supervision, regulation, and enforcement over financial institutions that is more in keeping with other financial regulators,” the group continued.

For example, the Federal Trade Commission has this kind of organizational structure. The FTC is headed by five commissioners, nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate with each one serving a seven-year term. No more than three commissioners can be of the same political party, and the president chooses one commissioner to act as chairman.

The letter also mentioned the ramifications if lawmakers do not take this recommended action.

“Moreover, the CFPB has recently finalized, or is in the process of finalizing, several rules, including arbitration, small dollar, third-party debt collection, and prepaid cards, that will have a dramatic and lasting impact on consumers, the economy, and financial institutions,” the groups said.

“Should the CFPB continue to promulgate these and other rules, Congress may utilize its authority under the Congressional Review Act (CRA) to repeal these actions. In the meantime, financial institutions must expend precious time and resources in complying with rules that may or may not materialize,” they continued.

“The 115th Session of Congress can bring certainty to consumers by passing legislation that would establish a commission and make needed changes to the many rules and regulations the bureau has or will consider,” the groups went on to say in the letter available here.

CFPB’s November complaint update

As of Nov. 1, the CFPB reported that it has handled approximately 1,035,200 complaints nationally across all products. Some of the findings from the statistics being published in this snapshot include:

—Complaint volume: For October, bureau officials indicated debt collection was the most-complained-about financial product or service. Of the approximately 27,000 complaints handled in October, there were 7,749 complaints about debt collection.

The second most-complained-about consumer product was credit reporting, which accounted for 5,369 complaints. The third most-complained-about financial product or service was mortgages, accounting for 4,357 complaints.

—Product trends: In a year-to-year comparison examining the three-month time period of August to October, the CFPB found that student loan complaints showed the greatest increase — 108 percent — of any product or service. The bureau received 1,272 student loan complaints between August and October of this year, while it received 612 complaints during the same time period in 2015.

—State information: The bureau noticed Alaska, New Mexico, and Missouri experienced the greatest year-to-year complaint volume increases from August to October period versus the same time period 12 months earlier; with Alaska up 53 percent, New Mexico up 33 percent and Missouri up 31 percent.

—Most-complained-about companies: The top three companies that received the most complaints from June through August were credit reporting companies Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion, according to the CFPB’s update.