In a new report, the Center for Responsible Lending – along with Americans for Financial Reform – examines the impact of advocacy efforts of policy and regulation.
The report take stock of both gains (actions that support or defend consumer protections) and losses (actions that jeopardize or reduce consumer protections) – specifically in the following areas:
- Federal legislation
- State legislation
- Federal regulatory actions
- Federal judicial actions
- State regulatory actions
- State judicial actions
- Industry practices
In addition, the report takes stock of efforts that have yet to yield specific outcomes – whether good or bad. The report aims to improve the understanding of advocates and to point the way forward for organizations developing strategies to ensure all people have access to fair and affordable financial services.
Some of the major observations of this year's report are:
- Significant gains were made via state and federal regulatory and judicial actions
- Federal and state legislative bodies actively considered bills to both expand and roll back consumer protections
- While support for access to fair and affordable financial services is high among the voting public, many Americans still do not know about the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau or its mission
- While other federal regulators made strong contributions to financial reform and consumer protections, the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is critically important for pushing forward reforms.
For questions about this report, please contact Sarah Wolff, senior researcher, at sarah.wolff@responsiblelending.org.