Captives To Face CFPB Oversight

Um... the CFPB? I'm confused by this question.

What's Orwellian about the name? For an organization set up to help protect consumers from exploitative and unscrupulous financial practices, the name seems on target.

@Astigmatism If you read the Wikipedia page it specifically mentions mortgages, credit cars, and retirement accounts under "Regulatory activities". However the basic definition states: "The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is an independent agency of the United States government responsible for consumer protection in the financial sector. Its jurisdiction includes banks, credit unions, securities firms, payday lenders, mortgage-servicing operations, foreclosure relief services, debt collectors and other financial companies operating in the United States.". So, do the regulate auto loans made through banks and if so why is this not stated under regulation?

@ClutchCarGo I'm sure you realize it is human nature to exploit each other for financial gain. The best defense against this is an educated citizenry, not another alphabet agency to "protect" everyone. I also still think its an Orwellian name (Lender Oversight Agency works just as well) but we can agree to disagree.

@28-Cars-Later 28 there are many examples of cultures built on generosity not exploitation, sadly most have been victims genocide.

@Big L from Chicago I do not disagree, but I'm curious could you please cite some examples?

I think I see your point. This agency was created to protect the interests of said banksters.

@CJinSD If that is the case they sure fought hard against it, and against Elizabeth Warren who championed it.

@Big L from Chicago crazycarlarry, with your crazy talk.

@ClutchCarGo Yea, CFPB protected "black" borrowers from Ally Bank for their dealers charging them a third of a percent higher interest than other borrowers. Now "Asian" buyers tend to get better interest rates than "whites." But the CFPB doesn't care about that. Further, they determined if a person is "black" by their surname and zip code. There's a lot they could be doing other than "fixing something that ain't broke." They are determined to make an end run around Congress, who forbid CFPB from regulating new car dealers, by hassling their lenders. They charged ALLY about $100 million in fines and restitution at the time when ALLY absolutely had to get out from under the CFPB so they could structure themselves for their IPO. Can you spell E X T O R T I O N?

@28-Cars-Later Because you can't always rely on Wikipedia to be word perfect. The CFPB regulates most consumer financial products, including bank loans. It has to share jurisdiction over banks (very uneasily) with traditional bank regulators such as the OCC, who have always been concerned much more with the bank's financial picture than any consumer-facing issues.

@28-Cars-Later Expecting the average citizen to have a full understanding of the gamut of loan products now available is just plain unrealistic. Bankers with 15 years of experience don't always understand this stuff. We're not in a world where every mortgage and car loan is exactly the same anymore, and that's mostly a good thing -- but realistically it requires some oversight on the consumer side.

@ruggles Yeah, sorry, you're going to need a citation on this claim.

@CJinSD Actually, it was the first bank regulatory agency that *wasn't* created to protect bankster interests. That's why bank-friendly Senators tried every trick they could to prevent it from operating (and some are still arguing that it shouldn't legally have any authority because its director wasn't properly confirmed).

@CJinSD The agency was created to be the consumer's watch dog. They are making banker's lives miserable. They are trying to impose equal outcomes without saying so. The banking system NEEDS proper regulation. It NEEDED the Community Reinvestment Act. It needs reserve regulation. But it isn't credit union and traditional depository banks that caused the mortgage crisis, which some get confused with auto lending. It is TRUE that BOTH auto loans and mortgages get securitized. The dangerous element in lending are the credit derivatives. That's where the regulation needs to focus. Instead, there are a bunch of empowered "do gooders" on witch hunts. There is no Congressional oversight of the CFPB. They are funded by the Federal Reserve. They have rule making authority without going to Congress. Worse yet, Director Cordray is "grand standing" before he resigns to run for the Governorship of Ohio. You heard it here first.

@ruggles I want to trust the CFPB, because there was and is wrongdoing on the consumer facing side of lending as well as the securitization side. Sadly, what I read in the news and hear from you makes me think they're actually (whether intentionally or because the organization is being effectively herded) just putting up a front to restore the essential level of trust in the system without actually allowing any reform of the higher level defectors who continue to glean an inappropriate and unsustainable fraction of the world economy's production. I guess I shouldn't believe that a government of Goldman Sachs and it's cohort would ever stop the flow of money and power to their own mouths. Ruggles, restore my faith in the economy. Please.

@Xeranar On what claim?

@05lgt I chastise my fellow sinners regularly for creating situations that results in over reach. 'll take the CFPB, with all of its flaws, over unregulated Wall Street in a heartbeat. I am concerned when bankers are castigated as a general group. There is a HUGE difference between a local or regional depository bank and investment banks. There are bad actors in both places but the investment bankers have more "reach." After all, it was their credit default swaps that allowed for the AAA rating of the mortgage backed securities that melted down the world's economy. It was RW thinkers who blocked needed regulation. Now we have raving lunatic liberals trying to mandate equal results for everyone. The pendulum continues to swing, but we have about $50 trillion in credit default swap contracts in place with NO RESERVES in place to pay claims, other than the net worth of the issuers.