Charging that the single director structure — which helps make the bureau an effective consumer regulator, if that director is committed to the public interest — was unconstitutional evolved into a mainstay of attacks from Wall Street, predatory lenders, and their friends in Congress and the administration.
The report includes facts about lobbying spending that hit $2 billion in the last election cycle, and continues unabated, Wall Street executives in the Trump administration and regulatory agencies, tax cut windfalls for the finance industry, and a deregulatory free-for-all. It also includes a case study of how Wells Fargo’s outrageous conduct somehow earned it the distinction of being the biggest winner from the Trump-Republican tax bill.
““When Mick Mulvaney was a member of Congress, the World Acceptance Corporation gave more campaign contributions to him than any other member of the U.S. House of Representatives. Today, as acting director of the Consumer Bureau, Mulvaney showed his gratitude by dismissing a four-year investigation into deceptive practices the company has used to trap consumers into debt. Mulvaney’s actions leave no doubt where his priorities lie – campaign friends over consumers.”
“This abrupt and reckless decision by Mick Mulvaney shows the level of disdain he has toward working families. He’s giving a free pass to his past campaign contributors, and he is enabling payday lenders to get away with charging obscene triple digit interest rates in violation of state law, to people who are already struggling to make ends meet.”
AFR sent a letter to the House Financial Services Committee opposing a dozen bills that would deregulate banks and strip away consumer and investor protections.
“This move shows the level of influence that payday lenders have over Mick Mulvaney, who for years received campaign contributions while a member of Congress. With today’s announcement, Mulvaney is sending an unmistakable signal that he wants to kill this common-sense regulation.” Payday loans “trap borrowers in an unaffordable cycle of debt, causing severe financial harm such as bank penalty fees, delinquency on other bills, or even bankruptcy. There is no reason to reopen the rule, and doing so shows disdain for consumer protection and low-income communities that are targeted by these debt trap loans.”
Americans for Financial Reform and the Center for Responsible Lending hosted a press call today with leading experts to discuss two ongoing lawsuits concerning the CFPB director and the administration’s attempts to destroy the CFPB’s independence.
Fighting to preserve the mission of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau resonates strongly with an American public that is still feeling the effects of the Wall Street-induced recession and its continuing ripoffs of its own customers, according to a new polling memo.
By overwhelming majorities, across party lines and geographies, the American public supports the mission of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and rejects standard arguments against it.
Private equity moguls have invested heavily in the payday and installment lending. The development puts private equity firms in the position to profit from efforts by payday lenders to roll back an important new rule by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.