WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Reuters, citing multiple sources, published an article saying that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), currently led by unlawfully appointed Acting Director Mick Mulvaney, has pulled back on its investigation of Equifax’s massive data breach.
Yana Miles, Senior Legislative Counsel at the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL), issued the following statement:
If this report is true, then some 145 million Americans deserve an explanation from Mick Mulvaney. National credit bureaus have immense power over our financial lives. The credit consumers have access to is only as good as the credit bureaus’ files. Equifax’s massive data breach exposed an enormous flaw that must be addressed by the company and regulators. The public deserves to have a consumer protection watchdog that's going to keep the bureaus and other financial companies accountable and transparent to the public.
It's discouraging to see that every week Mulvaney is finding new ways to sabotage the consumer bureau. He’s dropped court cases against abusive predatory lenders, redefined the mission of the consumer bureau, dismissed investigations against bad financial actors, and he's working to eliminate the payday lending rule—which took five years to produce. The Administration should recognize the severe harm Mulvaney is doing to the public and nominate a director who has peoples’ interest at heart.
For more information, or to arrange an interview with a CRL spokesperson on this issue, please contact Matthew Kravitz at matthew.kravitz@responsiblelending.org or 202-349-1859.