The LA Times ran this article about the Consumer Financial Protection Agency. Here’s an excerpt:
[W]hen the House passed the massive Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act on Dec. 11, Congress took the first step toward creating a national watchdog for home buyers and mortgage borrowers for any future boom cycles.
The 1,279-page bill covers a vast amount of financial territory. But for ordinary consumers looking to apply for a home loan, what it says is this: Next time around, the federal government isn’t as likely to be asleep at the wheel. You’ll be less likely to encounter an environment in which unregulated pitchmen can sell you loans requiring no money upfront, no documentation, hyped-up appraisals and payment plans that drag you deeper into debt.
For buyers, the core of the legislation is its creation of a Consumer Financial Protection Agency, with broad powers to oversee and evaluate the consumer-safety features of mortgages and equity credit lines offered by banks, mortgage companies, brokers and others nationwide.