Demos Statement on the Sixth Anniversary of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

July 21, 2017 (New York, NY) – In honor of the sixth anniversary of the creation of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), Tamara Draut, Vice President of Policy and Research, issued the following statement.

“Six years ago, consumers across our country were suffering from years of deregulation that permitted unrelenting corporate greed, which created the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. Americans lost their jobs, watched their homes get foreclosed on, and were forced to sacrifice vital needs to make ends meet – decisions that no family should have to make. Six years ago, the American Dream was failing Americans, and there was no recourse for those who had been left behind.

“But with the creation of the CFPB, our nation’s working families have finally had an effective champion – and over these past six years, this agency has been hard at work. The victories have been significant: $11.8 billion returned to 29 million American consumers cheated by financial services companies; taking on discriminatory and abusive payday and car title lenders; new mortgages rules to protect homebuyers from deceptive lending practices; and much more.

“Now, after years of the CFPB defending us, it has become crucial – now more than ever before – that we all stand up and defend it. It is no secret that the Trump administration is aligned with unscrupulous lenders and is actively seeking to roll back the CFPB’s regulatory powers. In June, the House of Representatives passed the Financial CHOICE Act, a bill that weakens the CFPB, and the Senate is also considering measures to undercut the agency.

“We call on President Trump and the Republican-led Congress to make good on their pro-worker rhetoric and actually act on behalf of working families by allowing the CFPB to continue its vital work. The American people need a strong federal watchdog over our financial marketplace – and the people’s needs should prevail.”