FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
November 2, 2011
CONTACT:
Jon Houston, 202-225-7944
Reps. Maloney, Frank and consumer groups hail
first 100 days of Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
WASHINGTON, DC – Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), Ranking Member of the Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit Subcommittee of the House Financial Services Committee, and Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA), Ranking Member of the full House Financial Services Committee, today hailed the first 100 days of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
“The track record of the CFPB’s first hundred days has been superb,” Rep. Maloney said. “If the CFPB levels the playing field, we will make markets work more efficiently and help prevent the kind of financial crisis that brought on the Great Recession. The CFPB has been with us for only 100 days. Look at the difference it has already made to make risks and prices clear — I wish it had been 100 years.”
“Even before its first 100 days as America’s consumer cop, the CFPB began to take important steps to make the financial marketplace work for consumers,” said Ed Mierzwinski, U.S. PIRG Consumer Program Director. “It’s already proven that when a regulator has only one job, protecting consumers, it will do it well. When it gets a confirmed director, it will be able to do even more.”
“In its first 100 days, the CFPB has worked to simplify dense loan documents to help consumers accurately digest the details of major financial decisions like buying a house or borrowing big sums for college. But what makes the Bureau stand out among all other government regulators is its effort to actively engage people on an issue before creating new financial rules of the road,” says Consumer Action’s Ruth Susswein.
“Abusive and obviously unsustainable home loans were a major cause of the financial and economic crisis that is causing so much hardship. And tricks and traps on consumer financial products cost families billions of dollars a year. We need the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in the public’s corner, standing up for fairness and transparency. And the CFPB needs a director in place so it has all the tools it needs to do the job,” said Lisa Donner, executive director of Americans for Financial Reform.
“Our consumers need help now and we can start by having a fully empowered, adequately funded and appropriately staffed Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. As the nation’s chief consumer financial protector with authority over mortgages, credit cards, payday loans and other financial products, the CFPB plays a vital role on behalf of millions of consumers. Having reached the first 100 days of the Bureau and still operating without a full time Director is disheartening,” said Greg Jefferson of the AFL-CIO.
Pamela Banks, Senior Policy Counsel for Consumers Union, said, “The CFPB is designed to be a real watchdog for consumers, and it’s already working on serious issues like credit card complaints and helping people better understand the true cost of mortgages and student loans. In a recent poll by our magazine, Consumer Reports, 74% of consumers polled said they support the CFPB. What the CFPB needs is a director, and we’re going to keep pushing for confirmation of a director to ensure consumers get all of the help they need and deserve. Already over 80, 000 letters from our activists have been sent to the Senate demanding that Richard Cordray be confirmed now.”
The comments came after a hearing Wednesday by the Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit Subcommittee called by the Committee’s Majority.
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