November 15, 2011
New Financial Watchdog From Fully Protecting Consumers
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The continuing stalemate in the Senate over Richard Cordray’s nomination to head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is leaving seniors, students, servicemembers and other consumers at risk to costly financial scams, according to Consumers Union, the advocacy arm of Consumer Reports.
Without a director, the CFPB is not able to exercise its authority to oversee non-bank financial institutions like payday lenders, debt collectors, check cashers and certain mortgage lenders who target vulnerable consumers.
“It’s time to end the deadlock over this nomination in Congress,” said Pamela Banks, senior policy counsel for Consumers Union. “At a time when millions of Americans are struggling to stay afloat, opponents of the CFPB are standing in the way of the kind of tough oversight we need to rein in financial scams.”
The CFPB was created by the Wall Street reform law passed by Congress last year and is working to make sure financial companies provide consumers with the information they need to understand the true costs and risks of different financial products. It has been charged with identifying and stopping unfair, deceptive, and abusive financial practices and keeping the rules governing financial service products up-to-date.
David Butler dbutler@consumer.org or Kara Kelber kkelber@consumer.org, 202-462-6262 or Michael McCauley, mmccauley@consumer.org, 415-431-6747, ext 126