We Need the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau (CFPB)

The Consumer Finance Protection Bureau (CFPB) was born out of the Dodd-Frank Act.  Dodd-Frank is the legislation passed after the 2007-2008 Great Recession to reel in the big banks and Wall Street firms and regulate them so that what led to the economic meltdown could never happen again.  Dodd-Frank is a multi faceted law, parts of it are not popular with Wall Street and I am not qualified to make judgment on the act as a whole.  I am qualified to stand up for the CFPB however.

The CFPB helps people to deal with illegal or unscrupulous activities by; Credit Bureaus, Debt Collectors, Banks, Student loan servicers, etc. Just about any business in the financial arena a citizen can go to www.consumerfinance.gov and file a complaint along with any supporting documentation.  The CFPB would determines if the complaint is legitimate, and if so, will act as your advocate.  They investigate and request action be taken to "right the wrong".  They also can, and have, fined financial institutions and the credit bureaus for misleading consumers or for breaking the law.  The liaise with the Federal Trade Commission and have such down illegal debt collectors.

Most important; the director of the CFPB does not report to, nor receive funding from, Congress.  This keeps the politics out of the process, so corruption and financial influence of the big banks, credit bureaus, and others does not play a role in determining enforcement.  This has had many in Congress unhappy as they feel they need to be in control. 

The Trump administration has made it clear that they will repeal Dodd-Frank.  Should they abolish the CFPB (as Sen Ted Cruz wishes) it will only harm American citizens and leave them back to having little recourse to fighting the credit bureaus, big banks, debt collectors, and other who break the laws and try to extort and bully people.

We urge you to speak up to your lawmakers on Capitol Hill and tell them to focus on things that are harmful to Americans, not helpful.

Questions? feel free to contact us