A case by case analysis of the selected issues together with the approved rules and regulations as well as the orders, the other rules and the guides of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau supports the affirmative hypothesis that has been postulated in this paper.
Formed in 2010 after the credit crisis of 2008, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is a bureau under the federal government of the United States that monitors and supervises financial products and services targeting consumers. Due to their mandate of helping to safeguard consumers from negative and fraudulent treatments, the CFPB has a central role of promoting the fairness to those dealing with these financial institutions. As an independent bureau of the Federal Reserve System, the CFPB seeks to encourage the general public and other financial institutions to be abreast of their responsibilities to aspire and perform with honesty and equity in the market place through enforcement actions, rulemaking, and consumer education.
Because it has been established as the key federal supervisory body for the financial sector, CFPB is entitled to probe complaints, impose and collect fines, and adopt rules to protect consumer interests. In drafting their consumer complaint, clients use a structure that ensures understanding of the company’s policies, procedures and products, and that the consumer has all the information required on the complaint to seek redress from the CFPB. As we proceed to the discussion of functions of the CFPB to safeguard consumers against unfavourable lending policies and scams, this body is observed to be of paramount importance in maintaining and enhancing the soundness of the monetary structure.
In this article the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is briefly described as an independent and powerful organization responsible for the protection of consumers from unfair and deceptive financial practices of businesses.
More about Consumer Financial Protection Bureau The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau which is commonly referred to as the CFPB is an independent organization of the government of the United States of America that was created in the year 2010 under the provisions of the Act known as the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. The main purpose of formation of the CFPB is consumer protection in the financial market through supervision of entities engaged in financial activities and violation of consumer laws.
Consumer financial protection bureau often has the responsibility of ensuring consumers have the information required to make sound financial choices. The website of the CFPB contains a great deal of information on its various activities, the major areas of interest of consumers, and the problems people may face regarding such financial products as mortgages, credit cards, student loans, and debt collection. Consumers can also initiate complaints to the CFPB if they think that they have been treated injustly by a specific financial institution. Through offering the consumers with the information and means that they need to make informed decisions battling the complex world of financial institutions, the CFPB seeks to balance the bargaining power between consumers and financial service providers.
Well, besides empowering consumers through knowledge, the CFPB has another equally important duty that is, enforcement of laws protecting consumers. Since its creation, the CFPB has the power to enforce the law against those whose actions are taken against the basic fair process and engaging into unfair, deceptive, or abusive practices. This entails the ability to give penalties and fines to the institution that is found to have worked against consumer protection measures. This way the CFPB serves to ensure that consumers receive fair treatment from financial institutions, especially considering the fact that the later is capable of wronging the former.
The other major function of the CFPB is to monitor compliance by financial firms in order to ensure that consumers are not ill-treated or denied their rights by such institutions. Next, the CFPB is an independent bureau that has the power to establish rules in relation to financial institutions including the rules on the indication of fees and interest charges on cards. In this way, the CFPB provides the parameters for financial institutions to operate and, in doing so, offers the notion of consumer protection to ensure people are not taken advantage of.
In addition to overseeing and approving enforcement actions by financial entities, the CFPB also initiate and collect data and research on issues of significances to consumers. Nevertheless, it had a very important position in assisting the CFPB in devising its strategies and adopting proper regulations. As a result of understanding the various trends with regard to the financial markets, this will help the CFPB to address the following; Moreover, through the study of the consumers’ behavior patterns, the CFPB will be able to identify any new emergent consumer concerns.
To summarize, as the name itself suggests, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau bureau is an organization that falls under the United States government’s regime, its main function being the protection of the consumer against injustice in the financial market place. As for capacity, the CFPB informs consumers about financial products or services, protects consumers from unfair, deceptive or abusive financial practices, supervises and regulates financial entities and conducts research to help consumers to better manage to deal with financial companies with the ultimate goal of helping consumers to manage financially with financial firms. In this respect, the CFPB is playing a crucial function in the attempts to forestall the potentials of harms that consumers could incur within the fiscal sector and in the advancement of encompassing, clear and friendly fiscal position.
In conclusion, it is necessary to state that the reader should understand the significance of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau as the organization that stands for the protection of the consumers against unfair actions in financial affairs and providing them with essential decision-making in the sphere of finances. The roles extended through the enforcement power and the founding regulation show how the CFPB can facilitate the distribution of information to consumers and raise awareness as well as efficiency in the financial sector, making it essential in protecting consumers’ financial security. Consumers should be aware of these rights and employ the CFPB resources that are available to assist in making the right decisions on quality financial products. This facility given by the agency will also add more self-confidence and independence to the consumer while purchasing.
