Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

On July 21, 2010, President Obama signed the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, a bill that will bring sweeping changes to the way the financial services industry is regulated, and the way that financial products are delivered to consumers. A primary keystone of  this legislation is the new Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (CFPB), an agency that will have unprecedented power and authority to regulate the market for consumer financial products. The impact of this agency will be felt across the country by businesses and individual consumers for years to come.

Below is a list of common-sense principles that we encourage the Bureau to adopt and follow as a means of preventing or at least mitigating outcomes that are harmful for consumers, small businesses, and the economy at large.  We believe there is a “right way” for the Bureau to go about its work and a “wrong way.”

Right Way

  • Simplify Disclosure
  • Don’t Substitute Uncertainty for Currently-Clear “Rules of the Road”
  • Preserve Credit Availability and Choice for Consumers and Small Businesses
  • Focus Enforcement Activity on Fraudsters
  • Reduce Regulatory Burden through Consolidation and Coordination
  • Use Examination Authority Effectively  
  • Investigate Litigation Financing
  • Consolidate and Strengthen Federal Financial Literacy Programs
  • Base Regulatory Decisions on Credible Empirical Evidence
  • Employ Rigorous Cost-Benefit Analysis and Carefully Implement the Statutory Small Business Protections

Wrong Way 

  • Limit Options in the Market by Banning Legitimate Products or Services
  • Reduce Availability of Credit for Small Businesses
  • Allow 51 AGs to Define Inconsistent Standards
  • Treat Safety and Soundness Considerations as an Afterthought
  • Allow for Duplicative Regulation and Enforcement

Downloadthe "Right Way" vs "Wrong Way"

CFPB Spotlight

We have launched www.CFPBSpotlight.com to shine a spotlight, and keep the public informed, as the government takes on the task of building, staffing, and setting forth an agenda for the CFPB. By design, the CFPB will be most powerful federal financial regulator whose independence is established by limiting congressional oversight and that of the President. In this critical role, the CFPB will shape the market for consumer credit for years to come, particularly as consumers and small businesses struggle to access the credit they need to drive our economic recovery.

 

 

Recent Activity

March 5, 2012: CCMC submitted a comment Letter to the CFPB in response to the notice of proposed rulemaking entitled on “Streamlining Inherited Regulations.”

February 8, 2012: Andrew Pincus testified before the Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit of the House Committee on Financial Services, hearing to explore ways to promote accountability and transparency at the CFPB.

February 1, 2012: Andrew Pincus testified before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform’s Hearing to examine the legal policy implications of President Obama’s recess appointments to the CFPB and the NLRB.

January 31, 2012: CCMC sent a letter to the CFPB providing guidelines on what the Bureau should and shouldn’t do to help mitigate harmful impacts on consumers, small businesses, and the economy.

January 31, 2012: In advance of the Senate Banking Committee hearing Holding the CFPB Accountable: Review of First Semi-Annual Report, where Richard Cordray testified, we sent a letter signed by 30 organizations regarding the small business provisions in Dodd-Frank.