CFPB By the Numbers

  • $425 Million: Amount of money being refunded as a result of CFPB enforcement actions to consumers who had been subjected to deceptive practices
  • 6 Million: Number of consumers receiving  refunds because of 2012 CFPB enforcement actions
  • 200 Million: Number of consumers who have files at the major consumer reporting agencies, which are now subject to federal supervision for the first time
  • 30 Million: Number of consumers currently subject to debt collection agencies, which are now subject to federal supervision for the first time
  • 12 Million: Number of consumers who use loans from payday lenders, which are now subject to federal supervision for the first time
  • 2 Million: Number of households for which nonbanks originated mortgage loans in 2011 and which are now subject to federal supervision for the first time
  • More than 175,000: Number of complaints CFPB has handled (as of July 2013) from consumers in every state around the country since July 2011
  • 31,000: Number of military and veteran consumers the Bureau’s Office of Servicemember Affairs communicated with in 2012 through 82 outreach events
  • 918: Number of consumer questions answered in Ask CFPB
  • 644: Number of colleges voluntarily adopting the Financial Aid Shopping Sheet developed by the CFPB and the U.S. Department of Education
  • 153: Number of banks , bank affiliates, and credit unions under the CFPB’s supervisory authority
  • 30:  Number of times CFPB officials have testified before Congress
  • 13: Number of public town halls and field hearings CFPB has held since opening its doors in July 2011:
    • Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
    • Minneapolis, Minnesota
    • Cleveland, Ohio
    • Birmingham, Alabama
    • New York City, New York
    • Sioux Falls, South Dakota
    • Durham, North Carolina
    • Detroit, Michigan
    • St. Louis, Missouri
    • Seattle, Washington
    • Mountain View, California
    • Baltimore, Maryland
    • Atlanta, Georgia

Mortgage Rules Finalized by January 21, 2013

  • Rule Protecting Consumers From Irresponsible Mortgage Lending: The Bureau issued an Ability-to-Repay rule to protect consumers from irresponsible mortgage lending by requiring that lenders make a reasonable, good faith determination that prospective buyers have the ability to repay their mortgage. The rule also protects borrowers from risky lending practices such as “no doc” and “interest only” features that contributed to many homeowners ending up in delinquency and foreclosure after the 2008 housing collapse.
  • Rules Establishing Strong Protections For Homeowners Facing Foreclosure: The Bureau issued mortgage servicing rules to establish new, strong protections for homeowners. The rules also protect mortgage borrowers from costly surprises and runarounds by their servicers. The CFPB’s mortgage servicing rules ensure that borrowers in trouble get a fair process to avoid foreclosure. The CFPB’s rules help every borrower, whether struggling or not, by bringing greater transparency to the market with clear and timely information about mortgages. The rules also require common-sense policies and procedures for handling consumer accounts.
  • Rules Preventing Lenders From Steering Consumers Into Risky Mortgages: The Bureau issued a loan originator rule to prevent mortgage lenders from steering borrowers into risky and high-cost loans. The rule bans certain incentives loan originators had to sell unsafe loans to consumers in the run-up to the financial crisis.
  • Rule Strengthening Protections For High-Cost Mortgages: The Bureau issued a Home Ownership and Equity Protection Act rule that strengthens consumer protections for high-cost mortgages and provides consumers with information about homeownership counseling.  For high-cost mortgages, the rule bans potentially risky features, bans and limits certain fees and practices, and requires housing counseling.
  • Rule Improving Consumer Access to Appraisal Reports: The Bureau issued an appraisals rule that requires mortgage lenders to provide applicants with free copies of all appraisals and other home-value estimates. The rule ensures that consumers can receive information prior to closing about how the property’s value was determined.  Among other things, the rule requires that creditors inform consumers within three days of receiving an application for a loan of their right to receive copy of all appraisals.
  • Interagency Rule On Appraisals For Higher-Priced Mortgages: Six federal financial regulatory agencies issued a rule that establishes new appraisal requirements for “higher-priced mortgage loans.” For higher-priced mortgage loans, the rule requires creditors to use a licensed or certified appraiser who prepares a written appraisal report based on a physical inspection of the interior of the property. The rule also requires that creditors disclose to applicants information about the purpose of the appraisal and provide consumers with a free copy of any appraisal report.
  • Rule Expanding Timeframe for Required Escrow Accounts: The Bureau issued an escrow rule that, with respect to mortgages for which an escrow account is required, generally extends the amount of time the escrow account must be maintained to a minimum of five years. To preserve access to credit, the rule exempts loans made by certain creditors that operate predominantly in rural or underserved areas, as long as certain other criteria are met.