In response to the recent lawsuit against the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) filed by the US Chamber of Commerce and a consortium of bank trade associations, National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC) President and CEO Jesse Van Tol on Thursday released the following statement:
“Apparently some in the business and banking community believe that discrimination is fair as long as it is profitable. This is a disingenuous and dangerous attack on the American public’s right to fair treatment – but it’s also a remarkable admission: Big business trade lobbyists think their clients should have a right to discriminate. I am astounded that the banks that make up the ABA and the CBA want their name attached to this.
“When Congress created the CFPB in the wake of the financial crisis, it gave the agency clear powers to address discriminatory business practices. Lawmakers included those powers because of clear evidence that the irresponsible industry practices that generated the crisis had disproportionately harmful effects in communities of color. And CFPB has demonstrated why those powers are so vital, clawing back $13.5 billion in penalties and restitution for 175 million victims of financial industry wrongdoing.
“People need to understand what this is really about. These large corporate interests are only suing because the CFPB has been so effective in protecting consumers from discriminatory and unfair practices. NCRC stands with the CFPB in support of its effort to ensure that all financial products are provided to consumers are fair and non-discriminatory.”
We in Summit County Ohio stand with the CPFB and the NCRC on this issue. We urge the US Chamber, the ABA and the CBA to rescind the lawsuit and to internally review and revise their positions on fair and non-discriminatory banking practices.