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As an independent American government agency, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) operates in the interest of financial sector protection for all consumers. The consumer protection that the Bureau exercises applies to the government’s credit unions, payday lenders, banks, and all other related institutions.
The founding of the CFPB was originally greenlit by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, made federal law with President Barack Obama’s signature on July 21st, 2010. The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act is regarded as one of the most notable adjustments to have occured in post-Depression America’s financial regulation policies.
The Bureau’s operation
In essence, the main mission of the Bureau is to facilitate a fairer financial market for individual consumers, providers, and the economy in general. By nature, the Bureau aims to act as as countermeasure against any company practices that could be considered abusive or deceptive, especially those that are in direct violation of federal law.
In addition to actively working against any federal violations that may be committed by corrupt company overhead, the Bureau also operates as a potential resource that consumers can use for more information about how to make the most prudent financial choices.
Background
The agency’s creation followed the nation’s financial crises in the late 2000s. The founding of the agency was in part a response the demand for higher levels of transparency regarding all prices, terms and inherent risks in the market.
Benefits to the consumer
By giving consumers a clearer window into all of the essential yet easy-to-miss factors in the market, the CFPB potentially makes it easier to accurately compare pros and cons of products and services when shopping. With a higher level of transparency provided by the CFPB, all companies are federally mandated to adhere to the same regulations made in the interest of consumer protection.
Specific services
In order to enact the fair market principles that it was created to uphold, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau performs a number of specific functions. One of the core forms of work that the CFPB actively undergoes is taking action against any discovered forms of discrimination in the the consumer finance sector.
In addition to working against any forms of consumer discrimination that it finds on its own accord, the Bureau also takes consumer complaints that indicate the potential discovery of any prohibited practices.
While actively working against any discovered or suggested forms of federal violations to CFPB principles, the agency also operates by conducting its own research into consumer experiences. By researching consumer experiences, the agency can develop a greater level of insight into the general public’s collective experience with the use of of any consumer product.
The agency not only monitors the use of financial products in the general population, but also monitors the financial markets themselves; ideally, this can help the CFPB discover any potential threats to consumers before they become problematic.
Conclusion
The CFPB describes its own services as follows: empowerment, enforcement, and education. The agency works to answer the most pressing questions about the marketplace that consumers have about making important financial choice, taking a stand against companies that may engage in antagonistic practices, and returning money to those who have been harmed, disadvantaged, and/or discriminated against by said practices.
