On the heels of new research detailing trends in student loan burdens at for-profit colleges, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau launched a public inquiry earlier this month into student loan servicing practices.
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.