“’People know that financial companies were running amok, and that kind of behavior takes money out of people’s pockets and was the cause of a financial crisis,’ said Lisa Donner, executive director of Americans for Financial Reform. ‘President Trump campaigned on standing up to Wall Street, and I don’t think his voters are looking for putting Goldman Sachs even more in charge.’”
“With a single director at its head the CFPB is doing exactly what it is supposed to do. It has recovered $12 billion for over 29 million people. The only plausible reason to change it, after nearly 6 years of good work, is to stop that good work from happening. The banks and predatory lenders who are pushing this want to be able to abuse consumers with impunity. There is no good reason to enable them.”
“The Consumer Bureau’s continued progress on making financial markets fairer and safer confirms once again how important it is to have an independent and effective regulator with a consumer protection mission. The rule making prepaid cards fairer and safer is one more example of ‘unrigging’ the system for the American people, and it should be left in place.”
“[The CFPB] has been fulfilling its mission, without letting itself be cowed by Wall Street or captured by revolving-door insiders. That’s why it’s under attack, and why it urgently needs to be defended.”
“Along with fake prescription drug peddlers, scam weight loss regimes, and sneaky malware spreaders, Google has taken down 5 million attempts to trap Americans in predatory loans since mid-July… ‘While Google’s actions are helpful and important, an internet company cannot be the main barrier to abuse by these predators. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is working on smart, fair and flexible rules that, if finalized, will protect Americans from the worst abuses of payday lending. .. [I]t must not be undermined or weakened by the payday industry and their allies who want to keep getting away with debt trap 300% loans.’”
“Democrats and progressive groups have drawn a line in the sand over Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Richard Cordray, hoping to capitalize on the successful march on Washington this past weekend to rally support for him and his agency… Roughly 500 advocacy groups across the U.S. are poised to rally their supporters if Trump fires Cordray, said Gynnie Robnett, a campaign director at Americans for Financial Reform.”
“‘We are committed to protecting the CFPB’s independence, which is essential to stopping Wall Street and predatory lenders from fleecing American consumers. Director Cordray has been an effective and tireless leader of the CFPB and should serve his full five-year term without the threat of removal by Trump at the behest of industry lobbyists,’ said Lisa Donner, Executive Director of Americans for Financial Reform.”
Navient’s CEO Jack Remondi lashed out at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau for daring to do its job to protect student loan borrowers from up to $4 billion in unnecessary interest charges caused by Navient’s illegal servicing practices. Remondi’s complaints are a deceptive and self-interested attempt to evade responsibility for breaking the law.
“By freezing the CFTC’s funding at its current inadequate level for the next five years, this legislation exacerbates the agency’s most fundamental problem – a lack of resources to accomplish its mission. After the 2008 financial crisis, the CFTC became newly responsible for hundreds of trillions of dollars in previously unregulated swaps markets. …Even as it fails to address the pressing problem of funding, HR 238 would also load down the CFTC with additional mandates that would drain resources and act as a roadblock to necessary oversight and enforcement.
“In tens of millions of cases, debt collectors reportedly engaged in conduct barred by the Federal Debt Collections Practices Act. Nearly 40 percent of consumers reported that a debt collector had attempted contact four or more times a week. More than one third of consumers reported being contacted between 9 pm and 8 am. Three in four consumers said that debt collectors had failed to honor a request to cease contact.”