In 2008, the Financial Sector brought the country to its knees with insufficient regulation, over-leveraged balance sheets, and predatory lending practices developed to take advantaged of Americans and our non-existent financial education system. The leverage imploded, billion-dollar firms were acquired or disappeared in the middle of the night, and Americans were charged with picking up the pieces and the tab. The country healed and out of the rubble grew the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to ensure it never happened again. The CFPB’s mission is to empower consumers making financial decisions, take action against predatory companies breaking the law, and educate Americans on finance from childhood through retirement; help we desperately need!
2017 CFPB accomplishments include suing Navient Corp. and Citibank for systematic student loan failures that harmed borrowers, taking actions against Prospect Mortgage, LLC for illegal kickbacks on mortgage referrals, filing complaints against Corinthian College for predatory lending schemes, and suing Federal Debt Assistance Association, LLC for illegally posing as federal government debt-relief. A complete review of CFPB’s enforcement actions indicate it is successfully carrying out its mission objectives, which is why it is incomprehensible that Mick Mulvaney who called the bureau "a joke, in a sick, sad way” earlier this year and supported eliminating it was just named the Director. His appointment is a blatant attack on consumer financial protection and an indication that the 2008 Financial Crisis has been officially forgotten by politicians, and thus may be repeated.
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