House Financial Services Subcommittee on Financial Institutions Chair Barr to Chopra: CFPB is Directly Overstepping Its Bounds, Serving as Judge, Jury, Executioner in Consumer Financial Marketplace
The
Read Subcommittee Chairman Barr's opening remarks as delivered:
"Thank you, Director Chopra, for being here today.
"As the Director, you wear a lot of hats.
"You are a member of the
"This committee has spent a lot of time understanding how regulators reacted to the failures of
"As we said when FDIC Chair Gruenberg and Fed Vice Chair Barr testified before this Committee, there was and continues to be a lack of transparency surrounding the regulators' decision making that first weekend in March.
"Was there an ideological lens that impacted your response? Did your views regarding bank consolidation lead to a delayed resolution and greater uncertainty in the financial sector? Let's spend more time on this when we get to questions.
"Turning to your job today as CFPB Director, your agency is responsible for regulating and enforcing consumer financial laws.
"Clear rules, and expectations of how to comply with those rules, benefit all participants in the consumer financial marketplace.
"Unfortunately, under your leadership, the
"First, your agency identifies consumer harm in one instance for a specific product.
"From there, you extrapolate that harm occurred everywhere and everyone should be under suspicion. In fact, every act is presumed abusive until the
"You use compliance bulletins, circulars, and advisory opinions to sow doubt and confusion in the marketplace.
"You vilify entire industries simply because they are politically unsavory in your opinion.
"The practice of 'name and shame' first, verify later, isn't consumer protection, it's McCarthyism.
"This harms consumers and the economy at large, while propping up trial lawyers and consumer activist groups.
"Let me be clear, that is not the mission of the
"Finally, I'll turn to what appears to be your most recent appointment as an appendage of
"When the President started talking about 'junk fees,' the current hyper-partisan
"Look, it's an easy target, no one likes fees. And to be clear, some fees should be questioned to ensure people are not getting ripped off.
"But to indiscriminately label fees as abusive is a blatant attempt to pander to Americans who have been hung out to dry in the Biden economy.
"My Democratic colleagues will likely turn to their favorite talking point, 'corporate greed,' to explain away the need for fees. But you know who else relies on fees? The government.
"The
"If you want to enter most national parks, you pay a fee.
"Even the
"So why would the
"I'll finish with this, the current
"We experienced this under
"The
"That's why Committee Republicans advanced a package of bills to reform the structure and funding stream of the
"And let me just say one thing about the rulemaking on credit cards.
"I want you to talk about this, Director, because we don't understand how it's protecting consumers to say to a sub-prime credit card borrower, who's always on time and never pays late, which is 74% according to your own data--74% of Americans who have credit cards never pay late.
"Why is it consumer protection to force them to pay a higher interest rate by lowering the late fees on borrowers who never pay late?"
* * *
Watch Subcommittee Chairman
* * *
Original text here: https://financialservices.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=408868
Allstate Announces May 2023 Catastrophe Losses and Implemented Auto Rates
Investor Day 2023 Presentation
Advisor News
- I started using AI, but what now?
- How to support an entrepreneur client with multiple businesses
- Could a narrower focus help grow your practice?
- U.S. debt hits $40 trillion: how to support concerned clients
- Flourish brings private-bank-like cash solution to MassMutual’s network
More Advisor NewsAnnuity News
- MassMutual Expands Lending Options With New Secured Credit Line
- Corebridge Financial Introduces Progressive Trigger, a First-of-Its-Kind Index Annuity Strategy Designed to Turn Missed Years into Future Opportunity
- Insurer proposes $1.1M deal to resolve CA teachers’ annuity fee lawsuit
- IMOs get frustrated with slow carrier adoption of faster technology
- New class-action lawsuit targets Delaware Life over annuity disclosures
More Annuity NewsHealth/Employee Benefits News
- Your questions answered on Medicare open enrollment
- Terry Savage: Questions answered on open enrollment
- New Jersey residents will see Affordable Care Act premiums jump 20% on average for 2027 health insurance
- Health insurance hits municipal budgets, taxpayers hard
- Minnesota seniors face tough choices for health plans
More Health/Employee Benefits NewsLife Insurance News