CFPB Marks 10th Anniversary
Earlier this month, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) celebrated its 10th anniversary after officially launching as an agency in July 2011. Following the financial crisis of 2007-2008, members of Congress pushed for significant reforms, including the creation of an independent financial regulator focused on protecting consumers. The agency was officially created as part of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, which was signed into law on July 21, 2010.
“The CFPB’s supervision and enforcement efforts have had a tremendous impact on the marketplace, ensuring that companies live up to their obligations to consumers, or face appropriate consequences,” said the Bureau’s Acting Director Dave Uejio in a blog post marking the Bureau’s 10th anniversary. “That work has helped millions of consumers and stopped many of the most egregious practices in the marketplace, but there is much more to be done.”
The agency highlighted some of its achievements, such as its supervisory and enforcement efforts that provided roughly $14.4 billion in relief for consumers, and $1.7 billion in civil penalties. The CFPB also issued economic redress to more than 183 million consumers and consumer accounts in the past decade.
The CFPB’s Office of Consumer Response has received and responded to more than 3 million consumer complaints, which “empowers consumers by allowing them to highlight problems they’re experiencing, share that experience with others, and receive a response,” Uejio said.
Additionally, the CFPB highlighted its response to the COVID-19 pandemic, in that more than seven million consumers accessed the COVID-19 educational content that the Bureau created. Uejio noted that the pandemic amplified issues of racial equity that he plans to address, specifically in housing.
“We cannot have a truly competitive, innovative financial marketplace that responds to all consumers’ needs until all consumers are able to enter the marketplace on equal footing with full knowledge and the ability to seek redress,” he said.
