CU urges Congress to support CFPA

Friday January 15, 2010

Executive Compensation: Consumers Union Urges Congress to Support CFPA
Washington, DC—Consumers Union, the nonprofit publisher of Consumer Reports magazine today, in light of recent reports of excessive executive compensation for banks, renewed its call for the proposed Consumer Financial Protection Agency (CFPA), and sent a letter to the U.S. Senate urging support of the proposed agency.
“As our economy struggles to regain its financial footing after the worst economic collapse since the Great Depression, the big banks that caused the crisis are now giving their executives big bonuses for a job well done,” writes Pam Banks, Policy Counsel for Consumer Union. “The very financial institutions that benefited from the billions of dollars in taxpayer bailouts are now investing millions of dollars to kill efforts to fix our financial system. At the top of their hit list is the CFPA.”
The letter goes on to say:
“Consumers Union, urges you not to allow these institutions to profit from their reckless behavior and then destroy any hope for legislation that would protect consumers from the kind of abusive financial practices that helped trigger our current economic crisis.
“The CFPA would protect consumers from abusive, unsafe and deceptive financial products and services. It would require that all financial disclosures be fair, transparent and easy to understand.
“To be effective, the CFPA must have the necessary regulatory authority and resources to carry out its mandate to protect consumers. Among other things:

the CFPA must cover all financial products including all financing-related activities such as credit, savings, and payment products and the providers of such products and services;

the CFPA must have an independent budget funded by assessments from institutions under its authority;

the CFPA must have primary and independent rule writing, examination and enforcement authority that applies to both banks and non-banks;

States should have full authority to enact consumer protection laws that enhance and expand the minimum federal standards set by the CFPA;

CFPA rules should be enforceable by individuals, and those who violate CFPA rules must be accountable to the individuals they harm; and

the CFPA must be explicitly tasked with protecting the civil rights of consumers to reduce disparities in lending.”

The full letter can be seen here:
http://www.consumersunion.org/pdf/CPFA-ltr-Senate-0110.pdf
Media Contacts:
David Butler 202-462-6262
Kristina Edmunson, 202-464-6262