FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DATE: November 15, 2011
Consumer Advocates Renew Call for Fully Functioning Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
Senate Subcommittee Hearing and Day of Action Highlights Needs
Washington, DC –Today the Senate subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Protection held a hearing entitled “Financial Security Issues Facing Older Americans” where Mr. Hubert H. “Skip” Humphrey III, Assistant Director, Office of Financial Protection for Older Americans, testified to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) ongoing work to ensure that markets for consumer financial products or services are fair, transparent, and competitive.
In his written testimony Mr. Humphrey said, “I want to draw attention to one of the biggest financial issues facing seniors and this country today – elder financial abuse and exploitation. Whether you call it a hidden epidemic or the Crime of the 21st Century, as some have, it is a serious problem that we need to address. The numbers paint a sobering picture. According to a study by the MetLife Mature Market Institute, Americans over the age of 65 lost more than $2.9 billion to financial abuse and exploitation in 2010, a 12 percent increase from the $2.6 billion estimated in 2008. …More disturbing is the $2.9 billion the MetLife study estimated represents only a fraction of all instances of financial exploitation against older Americans because elder financial abuse and exploitation is underreported.”
These figures underline one more reason why the U.S. Senate needs to swiftly confirm Richard Cordray as director of the CFPB. Until the Senate acts or the President makes a recess appointment if they refuse to do so, the new CFPB does not gain its full authority to protect consumers, including seniors from unfair practices by banks, payday lenders and other financial firms.
Mr. Cordray has received enthusiastic support from a wide array of organizations and individuals in Ohio and across the country, ranging from community, faith based, and labor organizations, to business leaders, and law enforcement officials. That support reflects both his remarkable record of public service and the overwhelming support of the American public – across party lines – for strong, sensible oversight of the financial services industry, including a strong and independent CFPB.
Ed Mierzwinski, consumer program director, U.S. PIRG: “Seniors, as well as servicemembers, veterans and students, are among the groups hardest-hit by the financial crisis. Older Americans deserve better from Congress than a weak CFPB that cannot protect them from financial predators.”
Pamela Banks, senior policy counsel, Consumers Union: “The economic crisis has hit older Americans especially hard. There’s been a dramatic loss in retirement savings, and there are plenty of clever scam artists out there who prey on seniors. That’s why we need the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau running at full steam to protect seniors from scams and provide the tools that seniors need to make informed choices about their money.”
Linda Sherry, national priorities director, Consumer Action: “Protecting consumers? Protecting the profits of deep-pocketed corporations and financial institutions? Is this really such a difficult choice? Blocking the CFPB from gaining its full authority to protect consumers is short-sighted—we need to nominate Rich Cordray to make sure unfair and unfettered deceptive financial products don’t take down the economy—again!”
Shanna L. Smith, President and CEO of the National Fair Housing Alliance: “Congress created the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to protect those who suffered irreparable harm at the hands of lenders and Wall Street investors, including seniors, people of color, and others who have been peddled abusive and unfair home loan products. Today’s testimony underscores the need for a permanent director to lead the CFPB so it has regulatory authority over bank and non-bank entities.
Lisa Donner, executive director, Americans for Financial Reform: “Refusing to consider Rich Cordray’s nomination is simply standing in the way of consumer protection. It is protecting the bottom feeders of the financial industry at the expense of American families, including seniors, and our economy as a whole.”