CR and coalition partners urge the Legislature to enact Governor Newsom’s budget proposal to strengthen financial regulatory oversight as a response to the COVID-19 crisis.
Due to the COVID-19 crisis, more than two million Californians have filed unemployment claims – and some experts warn that by this summer, unemployment rates will likely mirror the Great Depression. Unscrupulous financial service providers are already marketing risky loans and aggressively collecting debts, adding insult to injury for desperate families. In many cases, the Department of Business Oversight, our existing regulator, does not have the authority it needs to stop these abuses.
The Governor’s proposal would rename DBO the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI), and establish the DFPI as a regulator with comprehensive oversight of the financial industry. It would ensure that the new DFPI has the necessary tools to monitor everyone from debt collectors to fintech companies offering fast cash to consumers. The Governor’s proposal would position California as a national leader in protecting consumers, small businesses, and communities struggling to recover financially from the COVID-19 pandemic.