New data from the bipartisan polling team Lake Research Partners and Chesapeake Beach Consulting shows that voters across the political spectrum overwhelmingly support the ongoing mission of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to regulate the financial industry and protect consumers. The survey also revealed strong support for maintaining the secure, independent funding mechanism for the CFPB. These new findings are consistent with over 10 years of opinion research demonstrating strong public support for the agency’s role and work. Voters are strongly supportive of a variety of...
Consumer Finance

CRL monitors developments across the consumer finance sector and acts to protect people’s pocketbooks from financial misconduct so families can build financial stability. This includes advocating for enforcement of laws banning discrimination based on race, national origin, sex, and other protected characteristics. CRL also fights to defend the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, a crucial government watchdog that was established in the wake of the 2008 Financial Crisis to stop predatory practices.
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The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued a Policy Statement on Abusive Acts and Practices and invited comments from the public. The Center for Responsible Lending applauds the CFPB for its efforts to further clarify abusive acts and practices. The Center further offers insights into how the statement may be strengthened to clarify the ways these acts take unreasonable advantage of a consumer’s inability to protect their interests in selecting or using a product.
From the letter: We strongly believe many of the reforms being considered today will harm consumers and the financial markets. These misguided approaches will place every American taxpayer at risk by increasing the likelihood that our nation’s economy may suffer yet another financial crisis. There are two proposals that are especially concerning. The first increases the asset thresholds at which financial institutions become subject to regulatory oversight. There are more than 4,000 banks in the United States, and this legislative draft would exempt all but 50 from having to comply with...
From the letter: We strongly believe many of the reforms being considered today will harm consumers and the financial markets. These misguided approaches will place every American taxpayer at risk by increasing the likelihood that our nation’s economy may suffer yet another financial crisis. There are two proposals that are especially concerning. The first increases the asset thresholds at which financial institutions become subject to regulatory oversight. There are more than 4,000 banks in the United States, and this legislative draft would exempt all but 50 from having to comply with...
The CFPB plays an integral role in the nation’s financial system. The Bureau’s work ensures that the system functions in a manner that is responsive to the interests of all market participants—consumers, large financial entities, and smaller institutions like Amici . Congress’s chosen method of funding the Bureau underpins the Bureau’s ability to do this important work, free from the outsized influence of any one market segment. Petitioners’ brief convincingly demonstrates that nothing in the text or history of the Constitution—or any decisions of this Court—supports the Fifth Circuit’s...
From the introduction to the letter: On behalf of the undersigned national, state, and local organizations, we urge you to oppose the dangerous package of bills titled the “CFPB Transparency and Accountability Reform Act” that threaten the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) funding, organizational structure, and its ability to monitor the marketplace by impeding their rulemaking functions. This package would irreparably harm the CFPB’s effectiveness and ultimately consumers.
The Center for Responsible Lending submitted a letter for the record on the House Committee on Financial Services’ Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Monetary Policy hearing entitled, “Consumer Financial Protection Bureau: Ripe for Reform.” The letter details the importance of the CFPB and draws on new data from Republican polling firm Chesapeake Beach Consulting and Democratic firm Lake Research Partners shows that 79 percent of voters across the political spectrum – including 64 percent of independents and 75 percent of Republicans – overwhelmingly support the mission of the CFPB to...
In this letter, several financial services industry and consumer groups expressed support for legislation, introduced in the U.S. Senate, to close the industrial loan company (ILC) charter loophole, the “Close the Shadow Banking Loophole Act."
New data from the bipartisan polling team Lake Research Partners and Chesapeake Beach Consultingi shows that voters across the political spectrum overwhelmingly support the ongoing mission of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to regulate the financial industry and protect consumers. The new findings are consistent with over 10 years of opinion research demonstrating strong public support for the agency’s role and work. Voters are strongly supportive of a variety of specific protections aimed at new types of financial products and want the CFPB to protect consumers from excessive...
The Center for Responsible Lending (CRL), along with Americans for Financial Reform (AFR), Consumer Federation of America (CFA), the National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC), and National Consumer Law Center (NCLC) (on behalf of its low-income clients) submitted a comment letter to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) in response to their call for public input on how to save Americans billions in junk fees charged by financial companies, leading consumer advocacy organizations submitted an extensive comment letter detailing junk fees across a wide range of consumer financial...