Americans are benefitting from a reinvigorated, proactive and thoughtful Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) six months into Director Rohit Chopra’s leadership, the head of the National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC) said Monday.
“The CFPB has returned to the vigorous and decisive approach that marked its early years as the country’s only agency dedicated solely to protecting consumers from abusive financial products,” NCRC President and CEO Jesse Van Tol said. “Since Director Chopra was confirmed last fall, the agency has restored its focus on effective enforcement of existing consumer laws and revived its proactive, forward-looking and consultative approach to the task of keeping pace with industry innovation.
“The agency’s robust and thoughtful proposed rule for gathering small business lending data under Section 1071 of the same law that created the CFPB promises to hold lenders accountable to provide fair and affordable credit to small businesses,” Van Tol said. “Its crackdown on repeat offenders like Cash America, MoneyGram and TransUnion signals that the guards are back on duty in the enforcement division. And the agency is setting the stage for proactive, consumer-informed oversight in key policy areas – the role of Big Tech, junk fees and ‘Buy Now Pay Later’ services, for example – by soliciting stakeholder input through formal requests for information.
“These developments since last fall should give Americans hope and confidence. One of their strongest advocates in government is back on duty.”
The Senate Banking Committee holds its semiannual hearing to review the CFPB’s performance on Tuesday April 26 at 10 am ET. The hearing will stream live on the committee’s website.
