Hybrid Hearing - Protecting Consumers During the Pandemic? An Examination of the... (EventID=110955)

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Connect with the House Financial Services Committee Get the latest news: https://democrats-financialservices.house.gov/ Follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HouseFinancialCmte Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/FSCDems ___________________________________ On Thursday, July 30, 2020, from 12:30 p.m. (ET) Full Committee Chairwoman Waters and Ranking Member McHenry will host a hybrid hearing entitled, “Protecting Consumers During the Pandemic? An Examination of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau." - - - - - - - - Witness for this one-panel hearing will be: • The Honorable Kathy Kraninger, Director, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Overview Pursuant to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 (Dodd-Frank Act), the Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (Consumer Bureau or CFPB) is required to testify before the Committee on its semi-annual report. The Dodd-Frank Act specifies nine items that must be included in CFPB’s semi-annual report to Congress: (1) a discussion of the significant problems faced by consumers in shopping for or obtaining consumer financial products or services; (2) a justification of the budget request of the previous year; (3) a list of the significant rules and orders adopted by the Consumer Bureau, as well as other significant initiatives conducted by the agency, during the preceding year and the plan of the agency for rules, orders, or other initiatives to be undertaken during the upcoming period; (4) an analysis of complaints about consumer financial products or services that the Consumer Bureau has received and collected in its central database on complaints during the preceding year; (5) a list, with a brief statement of the issues, of the public supervisory and enforcement actions to which the agency was a party during the preceding year; (6) the actions taken regarding rules, orders, and supervisory actions with respect to covered persons which are not credit unions or depository institutions; (7) an assessment of significant actions by State attorneys general or State regulators relating to Federal consumer financial law; (8) an analysis of the efforts of the Consumer Bureau to fulfill the fair lending mission of the agency; and, (9) an analysis of the efforts of the Consumer Bureau to increase workforce and contracting diversity consistent with the procedures established by its Office of Minority and Women Inclusion. The Committee last held a hearing on the CFPB’s semi-annual report on February 6, 2020. The most recent semi-annual report issued by CFPB was published on July 7, 2020, which covers agency activity from September 30, 2019 to March 31, 2020. This memo summarizes the activities of the CFPB since the last hearing. Background In response to the 2007-2009 financial crisis caused in part by a period of unchecked and rampant predatory lending, Congress created a strong and independent federal agency with the ability to better protect consumers from unfair, deceptive, or abusive acts or practices in the financial marketplace. Title X of the Dodd-Frank Act created the Consumer Bureau as an independent agency within the Federal Reserve System.6 In establishing the Consumer Bureau, Congress explicitly laid out in statute various mandates and outlined the agency’s purpose, objectives, and functions. Since opening its doors in 2011, the Consumer Bureau has investigated and uncovered egregious and illegal conduct in the financial marketplace, including discriminatory and predatory products and services offered to consumers. The agency has received over 2 million consumer complaints with a 97 percent timely response rate by financial firms to those complaints. The Consumer Bureau has returned more than $13 billion to over 35 million consumers that were harmed by bad actors.9 This includes returning at least $130 million in relief for servicemembers, veterans and their families harmed by illegal practices. The Consumer Bureau has also issued various rulemakings since its creation related to consumer protection.11 In addition, the Consumer Bureau performs research on various consumer financial products and services, and it provides free resources to the public to better understand these financial products and services, as well as their rights and protections afforded them under the law. Rulemaking Developments Payday Rulemaking. On July 7, 2020 the Consumer Bureau finalized the “Payday, Vehicle Title, and Certain High-Cost Installment Loans” rule. The final rule revokes the underwriting provisions of the original 2017 final rule issued by former Director Richard Cordray, that required that a borrower has the ability to repay a payday or vehicle title loan before a lender makes the loan. The Consumer Bureau under the direction of then Interim Director Mick Mulvaney and later Director Kraninger determined... Hearing page: https://democrats-financialservices.house.gov/calendar/eventsingle.aspx?EventID=406783