CFPB: Six years of protecting consumers from Wall St. fraud

WASHINGTON, D.C. (July 26, 2017) — The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) exists to rein in Wall Street and restore fairness and competition in the marketplace. As it continues making a difference for consumers and getting results for the sixth year in a row, the Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO is part of the CFPB Washington Coalition wishing the CFPB a happy 6th birthday.

Watch this video explaining what the CFPB does to protect us from malfeasance by Wall Street banks.

In the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, Congress and President Obama passed the Dodd-Frank financial reforms, to make sure that this sort of crisis could never happen again. As part of those reforms, the CFPB was established as an agency devoted to creating and enforcing fair, clear and transparent rules to protect consumers in the financial marketplace.

Since then, our watchdog on Wall Street has been a huge success, returning nearly $12 billion to more than 29 million people who were ripped off by companies that broke the law.

The banks spent billions to keep the CFPB from becoming a reality and continue to spend $2 million each day to kill it (that’s more than $2 billion in past two years). But thanks to millions of Americans speaking up, the CFPB is celebrating its sixth birthday, and hopes to celebrate many more.

The CFPB has also processed more than 1.1 million consumer complaints, and have gotten a 97% response rate from companies. Helpful guides are available on its website for service members, students, and all other consumers shopping for homes, taking out loans, planning for retirement, or making other important financial decisions.

The Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO wishes CFPB a happy birthday — and many more. Click here to send the CFPB a message with your birthday wishes.