Consumer Financial Protection Bureau: Ready or Not, We’re Coming
The government’s newest consumer watchdog agency plans to hit the ground running, enforcing new rules regarding the nation’s largest banks from the day it opens, even as attacks on its authority and its lack of a permanent director limit the agency’s power in other ways.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau opens its doors on July 21. The new agency plans to be ready, with more than 100 staff members tasked to oversee the nation’s largest 111 banking institutions, according to a press release published on Tuesday.
“The new consumer agency is here to make sure that markets work for American families,” Elizabeth Warren, President Obama’s special advisor on the CFPB, said in the release. “Starting on
This week I had the opportunity to attend a fascinating forum in Washington, DC, to explore the myriad issues surrounding child identity theft, including foster care identity theft (a particularly cruel malady foisted upon children who already begin life behind the eight ball) and identity theft within families. The event was sponsored by the Federal Trade Commission and the Office for Victims of Crime, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice, and was attended by victims, businesses and representatives from federal and state governments, law enforcement, educational institutions, consumer advocates and legal service providers.
As a result of the moratorium on foreclosure actions many of the nation’s top financial institutions put in place late last year, there is a massive backup of about 1 million homes in mortgage delinquency that should have been foreclosed on by now, according to a report from USA Today. Currently, experts predict that about 2 million homes will be foreclosed on this year, down from the more than 3 million that would normally go through the process given current delinquency rates.
Option #6: Bankruptcy
While the news channels are a buzz and Washington is in gridlock, it’s hard not to see the parallels between the American government’s debt and the American consumer’s debt. This week’s roundup includes an article that will have you thinking about the similarities. We also have stories about the benefits of the nations rising credit card use and how you can save by paying with your credit card. As always, if you enjoy any of our favorite bloggers, we encourage you to follow them on Twitter for regular updates. And don
Consumers who tuned into Thursday’s hearing of the Congressional Oversight Committee may not have recognized what they were seeing. An earlier hearing, in May, about the government’s new watchdog agency, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, descended into a bunch of hotheaded yelling and accusations of lying, garnering quite a lot of press for a committee that is usually mostly ignored.