The following is an op-ed from Celeste Meiffren, field director for Illinois PIRG.
Since July 21, the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau,
or CFPB – a centerpiece of the 2010 Wall Street Reform and Consumer
Protection Act -- has been up and running. It’s the nation’s first
federal financial regulator with only one job—protecting consumers from
unfair financial practices. Yet, until the bureau has a director, it
does not gain all of its new authority to protect the public.
It’s been a great week for big banks and corporate giants -- and a bad week for consumers and ordinary citizens everywhere.
The
U.S. House passed a bill that cuts into the new Consumer Financial
Protection Bureau (CFPB), and here in Illinois,
Attorney General Lisa Madigan was named one of the main negotiators
working with big banks for immunity in civil courts over foreclosure law
suits. Read more »
Nearing the one-year anniversary of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform
and Consumer Protection Act, the most vital part of it will soon be up
and running. On July 21, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, tasked
with regulating the act, will formally open up shop. The agency will serve as a watchdog against financial institutions -- and the Republicans who back them. Many of those conservatives are continuing their efforts to limit the bureau's power.
One major pro-consumer reform hailing from the Dodd-Frank act will make creditors more accountable for their lending decisions by forcing them to disclose the reasons why they rejected a consumer’s loan or credit card
application or gave them unfavorable terms like high interest rates. Read more »
The following is an op-ed from Celeste Meiffren, field director for Illinois PIRG.
It’s been a great week for big banks and corporate giants -- and a bad week for consumers and ordinary citizens everywhere. 