FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                               

CONTACT: John Carey at 202-466-1854
john@ourfinancialsecurity.org          

AFR Statement on CFPB Makes Progress Towards Supervision of Debt Collectors and Consumer Reporting Agencies

Washington, DC– Americans for Financial Reform, a coalition of more than 250 national and state organizations working together for strong Wall Street reform, issued the following statement

In issuing its proposed rule defining ‘larger participants ‘in the debt collection and consumer credit reporting markets the CFPB took an important step towards more accountability and fairness in the consumer financial marketplace.

Tens of millions of Americans are exposed to the debt collection process, which can include harassing phone calls, threats and false statements by debt collectors. Credit reports and credit scores play a large – and growing – role in determining access to credit, the cost of credit, and even employment opportunities, insurance, and more.  But there have been huge holes in the oversight of debt collection, allowing abuses to flourish in hard times, and almost no way to hold credit reporting agencies accountable when they make errors that can have devastating impacts on people’s financial lives. These industries have been largely unregulated at the federal level, and in some cases almost totally unregulated altogether, and the CFPB’s rulemaking, enforcement and supervision authority will be a welcome change.  We will review the proposed rule with care, and continue to argue for ‘larger participant’ definitions that are sufficiently broad to include all of the significant players shaping these industries, including those who do so in particular markets and communities.

###