Consumer bureau draws fire for pro-business tilt during crisis

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is relaxing rules designed to shield Americans from abuse during the coronavirus crisis, saying the moves are necessary to give businesses flexibility during the pandemic.

The bureau’s director, Kathy Kraninger, a former Trump budget office official, says the agency is doing everything it can to protect consumers from bad actors. She has touted its education and outreach efforts during the crisis, pointing to increased attempts to inform consumers of the assistance available to them.

In March, the agency announced that it would relax or postpone various reporting requirements for mortgage lenders, credit card companies and other financial institutions. Kraninger said the move would allow financial companies"to focus their resources on assisting consumers” rather than on complying with CFPB rules.

“The CFPB has a crucial role to play during this crisis to protect families,” Warren said in an email. “It must use its supervisory authority to monitor and detect consumer abuses and use its enforcement powers to punish companies that violate the law.” The target of many of those criticisms, former CFPB Director Richard Cordray, says there’s plenty more the agency could be doing for consumers. Cordray released a white paper last month detailing 16 actions the bureau could take, from using its supervisory authority to make sure lenders comply with the mortgage relief measures contained in the $2 trillion economic rescue package Congress passed in March to pressuring financial firms to waive overdraft fees.

“There’s sort of hard power and soft power,” Martin said, referring to the CFPB's enforcement powers and its ability to pressure businesses with public statements. “So until that becomes a public action, that’s something that people can’t necessarily see, so you’ll have to take my word for it until we have any public actions that we can release, but we are continuing to be on the job and doing everything that we can to protect consumers,” she added.

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