Document Type

Blog Post

Publication Date

4-29-2025

Abstract

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) is a federal agency that monitors financial markets to identify new risks to consumers, evaluates consumer complaints, and addresses unfair and deceptive trade practices by financial institutions, including banks, lenders, and credit card companies.[1]  The CFPB was created to protect consumers against the risky lending practices that caused the 2008 financial crisis.[2]  The CFPB has benefitted millions of Americans by helping homeowners facing foreclosure stay in their homes, curtailing banks from charging junk fees, and returning more than $20 billion to consumers nationwide.[3]  The agency also protects consumers impacted by institutional bias by enforcing anti-discrimination laws in consumer financing, investigating consumer complaints against companies, and providing oversight to ensure that companies do not engage in practices that disproportionately impact vulnerable consumer groups. These groups often do not have access to proper financial information and are taken advantage of through discriminatory practices, such as predatory lending.

This post was originally published on the Cardozo Journal of Equal Rights and Social Justice website on April 29, 2025. The original post can be accessed via the Archived Link button above.

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