While bankers fear the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) under Director Richard Cordray may be too aggressive, he assures them he is balancing safety and soundness with consumer protection. In a wide-ranging interview with American Banker, he says despite the fight over his initial recess appointment, he and his staff prioritized their mission: Protect and empower consumers in a financial marketplace. He says the Bureau recently received its 200,000 complaint, a statistic he says indicates the protection is being effective, as MHProNews has learned. Responding to a question regarding the biggest challenges of the agency, he referred to the four D’s: Deceptive and misleading marketing of products; debt traps like payday loans and deposit-advance products that can garner up to 390% interest; discrimination—treat all consumers the same; and dead ends, like debt collection, loan servicing, and possibly student-loan servicing and other instances in which the consumer is between two institutions. For the complete interview, please click here.
