A deep dive into the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s response to the coronavirus, or lack thereof depending on how you lean politically, showcases the difficulty in navigating a response to a situation that nobody ever thought would occur and why the calls for knee-jerk reactions sometimes cause more problems that the solutions they are trying to create.
The article features comments from a number of prominent Democrats and consumer advocated who point out that the CFPB has not yet brought a single enforcement action in relation to COVID-19 and chastised what the agency has done in response to the pandemic, such as telling furnishers that it would give them more time to investigate disputes filed by individuals, asking furnishers to make good faith efforts to do so as quickly as possible. Many furnishers, including collection agencies, are working remotely, which can cause a strain on operations.
On the other side, Republicans are lauding how the CFPB, and its Director, Kathy Kraninger, have responded to the crisis.
“Attacking business is not consumer protection,” Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-Mo.), a member of the House Financial Services Committee, said in a statement, according to the report. “Giving flexibility to businesses so they can help families in need is exactly what they should be doing to look out for consumers. Punitive actions that unnecessarily raise the costs of housing or completely eliminate housing options only serves to satisfy certain people’s need to inflict pain on businesses, and it’s done at the expense of consumers.”
Kraninger’s predecessor, Richard Cordray, has also had some sharp criticisms of what she and the CFPB have done during the last two months.
“The biggest issue right now is they haven’t had the right frame of mind about the emerging crisis,” Cordray said in an interview, accusing the agency of focusing on “giving businesses more leeway” rather than protecting consumers.
