Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is an independent government agency that protects consumers against harmful financial practices. Its primary purpose is to ensure that consumers stay educated on financial products and services so that they can make informed, healthy decisions about their finances.

Apart from consumer protection, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Act also takes legal action against corporations and entities indulging in such activities. It enforces various federal financial laws and supervises financial institutions. In short, its overall focus remains on working for consumers and considering their well-being in the markets.

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau refers to a government organization that works for the protection of consumers regarding financial issues. They strive to educate consumers on the financial markets, products and services, and related information. Any misleading or harmful practice against them gives rise to various rights and obligations in return. Furthermore, they can file a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau complaint against such entities and avail their rights. However, there is an entirely separate process for registering the same. 

The establishment of the CFPB started during the Great Recession. With many banks and financial institutions facing turmoil, consumers had a huge loss to bear. As a result, it became the CFPB's mission to regulate and supervise the offerings of financial companies to consumers. They provide various materials and information on financial education to create awareness among investors. CFPB conducts research and collects financial data to achieve greater insights into the market. However, there might be a small fee associated with this information. Additionally, they also offer personalized help to receive assistance from someone like a credit counselor in financial matters. 

The CFPB resides within the Federal Reserve System and has a director to handle its operations. The President appoints this single director, and the Senate confirms its employment. At present, Rohit Chopra is the director of the CFPB agency. Any financial institution that owns $10 billion or more worth of assets falls under the supervisory territory of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Act.

The CFPB's origins started in the wake of the financial crisis of 2007-08. During the breakdown of the housing finance bubble, many consumers were fueled by the reckless practices in the mortgage industry. At that moment, homeowners felt trapped due to this mishap. As a result, Congress ensured that this incident never happened again. Hence, on July 21, 2011, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau website became live for citizens in the United States. 

This agency was established under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform (also the Consumer Protection Act of 2010) Act. However, the fundamental idea of this watchdog came from Senator Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass, who was also a professor at Harvard Law School. At that time, Ms. Warren had already wished to create such an agency in 2007 to regulate mortgages, loans, and other financial products. Later, in 2010, former US President Barack Obama appointed Warren as special advisor for regulating this new agency. Many members expected her to be the first director of CPFB, but Republicans opposed it beautifully. As a result, Obama appointed former Ohio attorney Richard Cordray as the first director of the CFPB agency.

On the other hand, the CFPB has a wide range of activities and responsibilities. Let us understand the four goals of CFPB in brief: 

• The primary objective of this agency is to implement and enforce the laws to ensure consumers have access to fair, transparent, and competitive markets. Some federal laws under this act include; 

a. Fair Credit Reporting Act

b. Equal Credit Opportunity Act

c. Truth in Lending Act 

• They also serve consumer's needs and protect consumers from unfair, deceptive, and abusive practices in financial institutions. Furthermore, it debarks any form of discrimination when addressing consumer protection financial bureau complaints. 
• They empower consumers to live better financial lives. The CFPB also focuses on traditionally underserved people who might have been targets of such practices. 
• The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau uses data-driven analyses to check consumers' experiences with financial institutions, products, and services and develop public policy. 
• Lastly, CFPB aims to cultivate an engaging routine among the team members to develop a commitment to workforce equity to the advancement of the CFPB's mission. They review and redesign the skills of the employees to help them perform their best.

1. Before proceeding, CFPB urges readers to study the entire complaint process to avoid any misunderstandings during the filing.
2. Create an account with CFPB to initiate the process.
3. Go to the CFPB website and click on the "Consumer Education" tab.
4. Gather documents or shreds of evidence that support the complaint beforehand.
5. Detail and describe the entire incident with all supporting information on the page. Since you cannot register the same complaint twice, try to be descriptive.
6. Click on the "Submit" button.
7. Later, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau checks the registered complaint and forwards it to the company.
8. If the process takes more than 15 days, the CFPB will keep you updated on the status of the complaint.
9. Once the complaint receives a response, it is then forwarded to the individual for review and feedback.
10. Lastly, consumers also have the opportunity to publish their complaints on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau complaint database. 

Since the 2007–2008 financial crisis, the CFPB has gained the utmost importance in the financial markets and among consumers. It serves as a watchdog agency for regulating financial institutions and their products. Additionally, it enforces consumer laws to ensure consumer protection from predictive lending and deceptive practices. Even the financial institutions held accountable and liable are then treated as per jurisdiction. 

Likewise, this agency also creates a transparent regulatory environment in the marketplace. It helps promote a fair, competitive, and, most importantly, safe space for investors to invest in. It establishes clear rules to monitor financial markets and take legal action if necessary.