Tag Archives: CFPB

sign for the CFPB outside a building

In The News: Elizabeth Warren Lost Her Dream Job but Gained a Path to 2020 (NYT)

It was no longer a lonely effort. Mr. Frank, a powerful committee chairman, was now an ally. So was an emerging coalition of progressive groups, labor unions and consumer advocates, known as Americans for Financial Reform. Ms. Warren sought out its leader, Heather Booth, for insight into political organizing. “She knew many of the players on the policy side,” Ms. Booth said. “What she hadn’t been experienced with were the politics.”

In The News: Trump’s Latest Assault on the CFPB Could Backfire (Slate)

Kraninger is wildly unqualified to lead the CFPB: Before her confirmation, she had no experience in consumer protection or financial regulation. Civil rights groups and Wall Street watchdogs [AFR letter linked] uniformly opposed her, while the financial industry supported her—perceiving correctly that she would be, at best, a do-nothing director.

us congress building - Photo by Louis Velazquez on Unsplash

News Release: CFPB’s Proposed Debt Collection Rule Faces Strong Bipartisan Opposition

Strong majorities across parties oppose the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) proposed debt collection rule including medical debt, according to a new poll released by Americans for Financial Reform (AFR) and the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL). The poll was conducted by the bipartisan team of Lake Research Partners and Chesapeake Beach Consulting.

A horde of toy zombies demonstrates the way the CFPB's debt collection proposal could unleash harassing calls from debt collectors trying to collect on old, invalid, "zombie" debts

AFR/CRL Poll: CFPB Debt Collection Proposal Faces Strong Bipartisan Opposition

In its proposed rule, CFPB Director Kathy Kraninger is sanctioning consumer harassment by allowing debt collectors to: call consumers seven times per debt, per week; send unlimited emails, texts, and social media messages without consumer consent; allow debt collectors to collect very old “zombie debts” where the time to sue has expired; and file baseless lawsuits by making it easier to sue the wrong consumer, for the wrong amount.

Joint Statement: Nation’s Top Student Loan Watchdog Post Remains Vacant 150 Days After CFPB Director Promised to “Quickly” Fill the Role

Tomorrow marks one hundred fifty days since Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Director Kathy Kraninger committed to quickly filling the nation’s top student loan watchdog position—a role that has been vacant for almost a year. As student debt nears $1.6 trillion and predatory practices plague the market, the Student Borrower Protection Center (SBPC) and Americans for Financial Reform Education Fund (AFREF) are releasing a roundup of failures by the current CFPB Director to stand up for student loan borrowers.

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News Release: AFR Statement on Financial Services Committee Markup on Credit Reporting

“Credit reports and credit scores play a critical role in the economic lives of Americans. They are the gatekeeper for affordable credit, insurance, rental housing, and sometimes unfortunately even a job. Yet they suffer from unacceptable rates of inaccuracy. This package would enact a sea change that would make the American credit reporting system more accurate and fairer to consumers.”