The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is an independent agency of the United States government responsible for consumer protection in the financial sector. CFPB's jurisdiction includes banks, credit unions, securities firms, payday lenders, mortgage-servicing operations, foreclosure relief services, debt collectors, for-profit colleges, and other financial companies operating in the United States.
The agency was originally proposed in 2007 by Elizabeth Warren while she was a law professor and she played an instrumental role in its establishment. The CFPB's creation was authorized by the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, whose passage in 2010 was a legislative response to the 2008 financial crisis and the subsequent Great Recession, and is an independent bureau within the Federal Reserve.
Since its founding, the agency has returned more than $21 billion to consumers who were defrauded by financial institutions. The agency has established or proposed rules to cap overdraft charges and credit card late fees; prohibit medical debt from credit reports; limit the ability of data brokers to sell personal data; and limit predatory payday loan practices. The agency is funded through penalties collected with its enforcement actions and through transfers from the Federal Reserve.
Throughout its existence, the Bureau has been persistently targeted by Republican politicians and the financial industry. The CFPB's status as an independent agency has been subject to many challenges in court. In June 2020, the United States Supreme Court ruled that the president can remove the director without cause but allowed the agency to remain in operation. In 2024, the Supreme Court affirmed the constitutionality of the CFPB funding mechanism prescribed by Congress. Donald Trump, at the outset of his second presidential term, appointed an acting director who immediately ordered the Bureau to stop regulatory activity, and sought to fire 90% of CFPB staff.
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