About CFPB

Bill Arnold, of Romney WV, wrote this letter to the editor elucidating what the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is all about.  He also follows up with some suggestions of other consumer protections that should be in place.  Since he wrote this, we have learned that President Obama, instead of appointing Elizabeth Warren to the post of director of CFPB, has appointed her deputy, Richard Cordray; the GOP has already promised to fight that nomination; indeed, they had previously said they would fight any nomination unless rules are changed to weaken the function of the agency.  As well, theyhave an upcoming bill, which you can google to find more details: 

Consumer Financial Protection Safety and Soundness Improvement Act of 2011 - H.R.1315

This House bill would make it easier to overturn rules and regulations issued by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Here is Bill's letter:

To the Editor

On July 21 the CFPB (Consumer Financial Protection Bureau) becomes law.  It will inherit consumer protection responsibilities from seven federal agencies and assume powers to police "unfair, deceptive, or abusive" financial services products which rob our pockets, lessening our economy's ability to sustain a demand that can grow us (JOBWISE) out of this Wall Street induced recession.

It will write new rules and enforce existing ones for banks with assets of $10 billion-plus  and the tens of thousands of companies in the “shadow” banking industry who charge outrageous interest (e.g.: payday lenders, student Ioan companies, mortgage brokers, debt collectors and credit card companies). Smaller banks will be subject to CFPB rules, but other regulators like the FDIC will enforce them.

CFPB has authority to write rules affecting mortgage down payments and disclosures, loan modifications, credit card rates and fees, bank overdraft charges, credit score usage, and eligibility for student loans, credit cards, pre-paid cards and more. 

They can impose fines on companies, require restitution to aggrieved consumers, rescind consumer contracts and/or file lawsuits against firms that violate its rules. The intention is to make it easier for consumers to understand the often indecipherable fine print that financial firms throw at us.

It should be no surprise that entrenched financial interests, whose huge incomes depend upon our ignorance, are heavily lobbying inside-the-beltway captives (such as Congress) to disintegrate the CFPB.

Anytime you hear Elizabeth Warren's name (the intended head of CFPB) in the headlines you can expect controversial diatribes to accompany the· entrenched financial establishment's crusade to delegitimize the CFPB, CFPB will cover our back. We've needed it for a long time.

CFPB is only a first step in recreationalizing a new way of life that keeps America's prom­ise valid for our future generations.

Here are others. 

"Benefit Corporations" commit to treating their employees, customers, communities and local environments with the same respect as their shareholders.

Put an independent public director on every board who would advocate for the public's interest.

Tax the short-term speculative activities that dominate/distort financial markets.

Eliminate monopoly protections.

Incorporate state banks to increase avail­ability of public money to local businesses, farmers, homeowners, and college students.

Restrict the doctrine of "limited liability" so investors are liable for bad things their busi­nesses do.

Reward money-managers for "long-term" growth. Make the payout from pension divi­dends tax-free for low/middle income wage-­earners.

Require that publicly traded corporations use only cash surpluses for growth investments.

Bill Arnold

Romney, WVa.