White House Says CFPB Has Cost Consumers More Than $200B; Consumer Groups Blast Claim

WASHINGTON–Republican lawmakers are again vowing to reform the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) following a White House report that suggested it has cost consumers more than $200 billion. 

Consumer groups are blasting the announcement.

The White House said the CFPB has cost consumers at least $237 billion since the agency was launched 2011, citing what it said is the cost is due to the regulatory burden imposed by the CFPB. The White House based its statement on a report by the Council of Economic Advisers (CEA).

‘Costs Passed on to Consumers’

“CFPB regulations increased the compliance and liability costs associated with financial products, and financial institutions passed those costs along to consumers in the form of higher prices and reduced product offerings,” the White House said in its statement. 

In its report, the CEA said that the CFPB has cost consumers between $237 billion and $369 billion since 2011, an estimate includes fiscal costs, higher borrowing expenses and reduced originations.

Prior to the reductions in budget and staffing at the CFPB by the Trump administration, the Bureau said it had recovered $22 billion for consumers who had been wronged.

Consumer Groups Blast Move

In response to the White House statement, consumer groups reacted strongly.

“The White House continues to arm billionaires in their war on ordinary people’s wallets,” Diane Thompson, deputy director and chief advocacy officer at the National Consumer Law Center, said in a statement. “A functioning, effective Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is essential in safeguarding people from unscrupulous companies that prey on working families.” 

In its response, the NCLC said people across the country count on the CFPB to protect them from big banks and other large financial corporations. It added that “the need for the CFPB is only increasing in the current economy. Last year alone, people filed more than 5.6 million complaints with the CFPB , an increase of more than 100% from the year before.”