We in the real estate business have been hearing TONS about the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau (CFPB) lately. The biggest piece for us has been the changes in the required disclosure documents that will be launching “soon”. Mainly, the required documentation has been cleaned up/made less confusing (and I think they’ve done a reasonably good job at that part). (More details in the video below.) However, I do have some concerns.
As a fan of federalism, I am not too keen on this organization being (relatively?) clear of Congressional oversight. I highly value the mission and role of the org, but also deeply value governmental transparency and accountability. I would like to see more of that with the CFPB, even considering the partisan and often grandstanding nature of Congress. But that’s another issue.