For Immediate Release:
Tuesday, October 3, 2023
Contact:
Nazneen Ahmed (919) 716-0060
AGs Highlight CFPB’s Role in Protecting Consumers Nationwide
(RALEIGH) Today, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) v. Community Financial Services Association of America (CFSA). CFSA is asking the Supreme Court to affirm the Fifth Circuit’s ruling that threatens the CFPB’s funding and existence. A coalition of 16 attorneys general are asking the Supreme Court to reverse the Fifth Circuit’s decision and maintain the CFPB’s existence because it is vital to protecting consumers and ensuring a fair financial system. Earlier this year, a group of state Attorneys General filed an amicus brief in this case, including Attorney General Josh Stein.
The CFPB serves several functions that are invaluable to states and state attorneys general. It provides necessary transparency and clarity to consumers seeking to navigate a confusing and opaque financial marketplace. It provides educational resources that aid consumers with questions or issues related to their various financial accounts and also provides an easier avenue for complaints against financial bad actors. It also supports state regulation of the financial industry and provides federal overlay for issues within the financial industry that states are unable to address. Together with the CFPB, state attorneys general have taken action to stop predatory companies, return billions of dollars back to defrauded consumers, and protect consumers from scammers.
Statement from Attorney General Josh Stein and fifteen other Attorneys General:
“Since its inception, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has been vital to consumers nationwide and to states seeking to protect consumers from overzealous and predatory actors in the financial marketplace. As state attorneys general who are committed to consumer protection and ensuring strong regulatory frameworks are in place to prevent widespread financial abuses, we are unequivocal in our support of the CFPB and its independent regulatory authority. State attorneys general are known as “the People’s Lawyer” for a reason — we advocate for the best interests and wellbeing of our constituents against predatory businesses and lenders, and the CFPB is an invaluable partner in that work.”
This statement is signed by the Attorneys General in North Carolina, New York, Arizona, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Washington, D.C., Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington.
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