We support reforms to the financial marketplace to curb bad practices by banks and lenders.
This disabled police officer in Loganville, Georgia says he was sold a mortgage he couldn’t afford. He’s lived in his home for 19 years.
CFPB
Consumers won a huge victory in 2010 with the passage of the Wall Street Reform law. The key provision of the bill for consumers is the creation of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which will oversee financial products and services such as mortgages, credit cards, payday loans, check cashing, and private student loans.
Publications
- Young Americans Deserve Strong Consumer Financial Protections
Young Americans Deserve a Strong Consumer Bureau to Protect them from Unfair Financial Practices Too many young Americans have paid the price for an outdated regulatory system that has left our financial system vulnerable to collapse and our families without adequate protections. In the summer of 2010, Congress passed and President Obama signed the Wall Continue Reading
- Women Deserve Strong Consumer Financial Protections
Women Deserve a Strong Consumer Bureau to Protect them from Unfair Financial Practices Too many women have paid the price for an outdated regulatory system that has left our financial system vulnerable to collapse and our families without adequate protections. In the summer of 2010, Congress passed and President Obama signed the Wall Street Reform Continue Reading
- Servicemembers Deserve a Strong Consumer Bureau to Protect them from Unfair Financial Practices
Servicemembers Deserve a Strong Consumer Bureau to Protect them from Unfair Financial Practices Too many servicemembers have paid the price for an outdated regulatory system that has left our financial system vulnerable to collapse and our families without adequate protections. In the summer of 2010, Congress passed and President Obama signed the Wall Street Reform Continue Reading
- Rural Americans Deserve a Strong Consumer Bureau to Protect them from Unfair Financial Practices
Rural Americans Deserve a Strong Consumer Bureau to Protect them from Unfair Financial Practices Too many Americans living in rural areas have paid the price for an outdated regulatory system that has left our financial system vulnerable to collapse and our families without adequate protections. In the summer of 2010, Congress passed and President Obama Continue Reading
- Older Americans Deserve a Strong Consumer Bureau to Protect them from Unfair Financial Practices
Older Americans Deserve a Strong Consumer Bureau to Protect them from Unfair Financial Practices Too many older Americans have paid the price for an outdated regulatory system that has left our financial system vulnerable to collapse and our families without adequate protections. In the summer of 2010, Congress passed and President Obama signed the Wall Continue Reading
- Latinos Deserve a Strong Consumer Bureau to Protect them from Unfair Financial Practices
Latinos Deserve a Strong Consumer Bureau to Protect them from Unfair Financial Practices Too many Latinos have paid the price for an outdated regulatory system that has left our financial system vulnerable to collapse and our families without adequate protections. In the summer of 2010, Congress passed and President Obama signed the Wall Street Continue Reading
- African Americans Deserve a Strong Consumer Bureau to Protect them from Unfair Financial Practices
African Americans Deserve a Strong Consumer Bureau to Protect them from Unfair Financial Practices Too many African Americans have paid the price for an outdated regulatory system that has left our financial system vulnerable to collapse and our families without adequate protections. In the summer of 2010, Congress passed and President Obama signed the Wall Continue Reading
- CU comments to the CFPB on which non-banks it should supervise
Consumers Union,1 the nonprofit publisher of Consumer Reports®, appreciates the opportunity to comment on this Notice and Request for Comment on how the Bureau should define “larger participants” in markets for other consumer financial products and services. The Bureau’s “larger participant” rule will determine which nondepository covered persons (hereinafter “non-banks”) other than residential mortgage, private Continue Reading
- CU comments to the OCC on proposed preemption rules for national banks
In this comment letter, CU tells the Office of the Comptroller of Currency (OCC) to amend its proposed rules regarding preemption of State consumer financial protection laws.
Since 2004, the OCC, which currently oversees national banks, has had broad preemption rules in place that allow national banks to evade stronger State laws that would protect consumers against predatory lending and other abuses. The Dodd-Frank Act overturned these standards and required the OCC to rewrite their rules – but the OCC’s proposed rules do little more than maintain the status quo, essentially ignoring their new responsibilities under Dodd-Frank.
- Consumer groups call on CFPB to ensure public has easy access to complaints collected by financial watchdog
Ms. Catherine West Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection Washington, D.C. Ms. Zixta Martinez Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection Washington, D.C. May 25, 2011 Ms. West and Ms. Martinez: We the undersigned consumer, civil rights, good government, and community groups, and members of Americans for Financial Reform (AFR) are writing to express our firm belief that Continue Reading
Press Releases
- Consumers Union Urges Senate Committee to Confirm Cordray
March 11, 2013 Consumers Union Urges Senate Committee to Confirm Cordray WASHINGTON, DC – Consumers Union, the policy and advocacy division of Consumer Reports, sent a letter to members of the Senate today urging them to confirm Richard Cordray as Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). The letter comes as the Senate Banking Committee prepares Continue Reading
- Consumers Union: Cordray Re-Nomination the Right Choice for CFPB
Richard Cordray has done an excellent job in taking many important steps to protect consumers
- CFPB Issues New Rules to Curb Mortgage Foreclosure Abuses
The rules set new, national standards to help make sure borrowers are treated fairly
- CU: CFPB mortgage rule will help consumers avoid bad loans
Bureau should keep up pressure to ensure all mortgages are fair, appropriate
- CFPB: Check your credit report every year
CU offers credit report resources and calls for free annual credit scores for consumers
- CU: Switching banks still challenging for consumers
One year after Bank Transfer Day, Consumers Union renews call for reforms to help make switching banks easier
- Debt collection protections needed for consumers
CU renews call for reforms as the CFPB holds field hearing on debt collection issues
- Consumers Union praises CFPB enforcement action against American Express for illegal credit card practices
The investigation found American Express had violated consumer protection laws
- CFPB: Private student loans need clearer terms
A new report outlines the deceptive practices in the private student loan business
- Capital One Fined $210 Million by CFPB: Consumers Union Statement
The bank tricked consumers into purchasing add-on services such as identity-theft protection
Blog Posts
- Payday Loan Industry Needs Strong CFPB Oversight
Payday loans – the short-term loans with high fees that function as an advance on one’s paycheck – are a highly controversial financial product. While consumers easily can obtain these loans at a storefront lender or online, they can be very difficult to repay. Since many of the applicants aren’t able to repay the loans Continue Reading
- CFPB en Español–New Spanish Language Website Launched
Good news this week from the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). The agency has just launched a Spanish language website which is a major development given the importance of the agency’s mission and its commitment to reaching out to all consumers. Given the growing number of Spanish speaking consumers in the U.S. and the Continue Reading
- Help Protect Service Men and Women from Credit Reporting Industry Abuses
It’s likely that many of our readers have tried to obtain a “free” credit score from one of the ubiquitous websites that market them, but discovered later that they inadvertently signed up for a credit monitoring service that automatically bills their credit or debit card each month. One soldier currently serving in Afghanistan recently fell Continue Reading
- CFPB Town Hall: Student Loans UPDATED
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is hosting a town hall on student loans. The hearing will take place on Wednesday, May 8 at 6 p.m. EDT (Eastern Daylight Time) in Miami-Dade County, Florida. The CFPB will confirm and announce the venue soon. The hearing will be held at: Miami Dade College Wolfson Campus Chapman Center, Room 3210 300 Continue Reading
- Cordray Confirmation Needed to Improve Credit Reporting
Credit report errors have long plagued consumers, many of whom diligently work to establish a solid credit history, only to find their efforts derailed due to mistakes made by creditors or the credit reporting agencies (CRAs). These lapses have the potential to be truly damaging as more and more companies — from auto, mortgage, and Continue Reading
- CFPB Director Faces Re-Nomination Hearing
Yesterday’s hearing by the Senate Banking Committee on the re-nomination of Richard Cordray to head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau was just the beginning of what could turn out to be a long fight in Congress. Cordray, who was named the director of the CFPB by recess appointment by President Obama in January 2012, appeared Continue Reading
- Financial watchdog: It’s déjà vu all over again
A minority of Senators are again holding hostage the director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau until they can significantly weaken the watchdog’s authority to protect the public. Consumers may remember this fight from the past two years, when Richard Cordray’s nomination to head the bureau was indefinitely held up. President Obama broke the stalemate Continue Reading
- Collectors and Lenders Gear Up for CFPB Oversight
While problems in the mortgage industry still dominate the news, some financial industry insiders are warning banks and debt collectors to get ready for more scrutiny over how they handle other types of debt – especially credit cards and student loans. A recent article in the American Bankers Association’s Banking Journal pointed out that since Continue Reading
- Feds Announce New Rules and Settlements on Mortgages
It’s been a busy week for new developments affecting mortgage borrowers and homeowners who lost their homes to foreclosure. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced new regulations on January 10 that, when implemented in 2014, will require banks to honestly characterize the full costs of their mortgage loans and lend only to borrowers that Continue Reading
- CFPB And FTC Team Up On Misleading Mortgage Ads
By Norma Garcia On Monday, November 19, 2012, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced they sent letters to a number of lenders over potentially misleading advertisements related to mortgages. According to a Bloomberg News report , together, the agencies are investigating 19 mortgage-related companies.In addition the LA Times Continue Reading
News Articles
- Make Wall Street play by rules Source: Missoulian (5/12/2010) (Wednesday May 12, 2010)
Missoulian (5/12/2010)
- Put Brakes on Auto Dealers Bid for Special Treatment Source: USA Today (Tuesday May 4, 2010)
USA Today (May 4, 2010)
- Senate Must Act on Banking Source: Huffington Post (Thursday April 15, 2010)
Has Congress learned any lessons from the financial meltdown?
- Banking on Hypocrisy Source: Politico (Tuesday March 30, 2010)
For almost a year, the big banks and the American Bankers Association have presented that choice to Congress.
- Financial Reform Endgame Source: New York Times (Sunday February 28, 2010)
All momentum for serious banking reform has been lost.
- Traction for Banking Regulation Source: New York Times (Friday February 26, 2010)
Representatives of the banking industry agree on the need to get a bill through Congress this year.
- As new credit law begins, issuers up to old tricks
A federal consumer protection agency would help protect gains.
- Small Business Owners Want CFPA Source: Huffington Post (Wednesday February 10, 2010)
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and its GOP allies have been busy warning that an independent Consumer Financial Protection Agency will hurt small business — but a growing number of small business owners are saying just the opposite.
Worried about retirement?
The stock market has been unusually volatile, plunging hundreds of points, creeping back, only to plunge again. It is hard to stay disciplined about saving when every dime you’ve invested can evaporate in a day.
What is your biggest concern about your own retirement? We want to hear from you.
Where to complain
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