The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued a report on agreements between credit card issuers and institutions of higher education.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau today released the first episodes of a two-part podcast series for students, parents, and practitioners on managing finances before, during, and after college.
To help students navigate paying for college, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau released the "Your Financial Path to Graduation" web tool designed to help students clearly understand the total cost of attending college and make informed decisions about paying for their education.
CFPB Heard More Than 20,000 Borrower Complaints Last Year Highlighting Widespread, Persistent Servicing Problems
Bureau’s Proposed Settlement Seeks $183.3 million in Relief for 41,000 Harmed Student Borrowers
Nearly Half of the Highest-Risk Borrowers Not Enrolled in an Affordable Repayment Plan Redefault
Bureau Urges Schools and Banks to Put Students' Best Financial Interest First
Today the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Student Loan Ombudsman released a report finding consumers complain of servicing problems that make it difficult to get lower student loan payments tied to their income. Student loan borrowers seeking to take advantage of income-driven repayment plans with their federal student loans complain to the CFPB about prolonged processing delays and wrongful rejections by their student loan servicers.
Bureau Also Releases Safe Student Account Toolkit to Help Colleges Avoid Promoting Prepaid and Debit Products with Surprise Fees WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) sent warning letters to 17 colleges directing them to improve disclosure of school-sponsored credit card agreements. A Bureau investigation found that these schools failed to make […]
Operation Ripped Off Students and Families Applying for College Financial Aid WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced it is taking action to halt a nationwide student financial aid scam that allegedly ripped off tens of thousands of students and families across the country by illegally charging millions of dollars in […]
CFPB and U.S. Departments of Education and Treasury Issue Framework for Servicing Reforms, Bureau Prioritizes Stamping Out Illegal Actions WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) released a report outlining widespread servicing failures reported by both federal and private student loan borrowers. Consumers describe companies using a wide range of sloppy, patchwork […]
Crossposted from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. This opinion editorial originally ran on May 14, 2015 online. As millions of students and their families across the country celebrate graduation season, many will be joining the ranks of the more than 40 million other Americans on the hook for over $1.2 trillion in student debt. The average […]
Thank you all for joining us today in Milwaukee. Plato once said, “The direction in which education starts a man will determine his future life.” More Americans are heeding that advice and going to college at record rates – including both women and men, I might add, unlike in Plato’s day. At the same time, […]
Let me start by thanking Senator Brown for inviting me to speak to you today about how our young people are seeking to finance their education and improve their future lives. I will provide a brief overview of some of the issues surrounding student loan debt and the costs of higher education, and I will […]
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and the U.S. Department of Education announced more than $480 million in forgiveness for borrowers who took out Corinthian College’s high-cost private student loans. ECMC Group, the new owner of a number of Corinthian schools, will not operate a private student loan program for seven […]
Responsible colleges are on high alert to ensure that they endorse transparent financial products. … To improve this process, the Bureau is proposing a draft “Safe Student Account Scorecard.” The scorecard builds on prior work by the FDIC and is designed to help colleges evaluate the costs and benefits to students of a financial product based on information about its features and how it is marketed. We are seeking input on the scorecard, which highlights four key areas for schools to consider and assess.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) released its annual report on college credit card agreements, which shows a nearly 70 percent decline in the number of agreements since Congress passed new disclosure requirements in 2009. These findings highlight the trend of marketing partnerships between colleges and financial institutions shifting from credit cards toward other products such as debit and prepaid cards, which generally have fewer sunshine protections. The report also found that most colleges with credit card agreements do not make those agreements readily accessible to students and families.
CFPB Warns Borrowers About Companies Charging High Fees for Free Federal Loan Repayment Benefits WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) took action to put an end to two student “debt relief” scams that illegally tricked borrowers into paying upfront fees for federal loan benefits. The CFPB, in a joint filing with […]
Our efforts reflect concern about access to credit and do not reflect a one-sided perspective to maximize consumer protection or industry deterrence at all costs. There is such a thing as doing too little, and there is such a thing as doing too much. We are aiming instead at doing justice.
Bureau Seeks More than $500 Million In Relief For Borrowers of Corinthian’s Private Student Loans WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) sued for-profit college chain Corinthian Colleges, Inc. for its illegal predatory lending scheme. The Bureau alleges that Corinthian lured tens of thousands of students to take out private loans to […]
Chairman Hensarling, Ranking Member Waters, and Members of the Committee, thank you for inviting me to testify today about the Semi-Annual Report of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is the nation’s first federal agency with the sole focus of protecting consumers in the financial marketplace. Financial products like mortgages, credit […]
My name is Rohit Chopra, and I serve as an Assistant Director at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (Bureau), where I lead an office that focuses on issues facing students and young Americans. In 2011, I was also designated by the Secretary of the Treasury as the Student Loan Ombudsman within the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, a new role established by Congress in the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.
Thank you for having me here today. I am very pleased to be able to join so many experts in consumer finance, a field whose interdisciplinary nature incorporates many fascinating issues from economics and psychology and many other subjects. As the first Director of the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, it seems to me that consumer finance is undeniably important. Just consider that in every macroeconomic model that exists today, consumer spending makes up about 70 percent of all economic activity. All of that activity requires practical and sustainable methods of financing.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, the U.S. Department of Justice announced an enforcement action against Sallie Mae (also known as Sallie Mae Bank and Navient Solutions), the largest servicer of federal and private student loans, which was found to be systematically violating the legal rights of U.S. servicemembers. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) also reached […]
Thank you Treasurer Schmidt, and thank you all for having me here today. Working as a local and state treasurer in Ohio taught me the importance of consumer finance in the everyday lives of Americans. When I was the Franklin County Treasurer, my primary job was to run a financial office and safeguard public funds. But there was also another, very significant dimension of this work. I set out to collect millions in unpaid property taxes from those evading their obligations, and in doing so to protect all the law-abiding taxpayers and businesses that take pains to meet their obligations.
