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Reports

We study how consumers interact with financial products and services to help identify potential problems in the marketplace and achieve better outcomes for all. Review our reports and analyses to help inform your decisions, policies, and practices. And, see reports that we periodically prepare about the CFPB.

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Category: Issue spotlight |
Published

Analysis of Deposit Insurance Coverage on Funds Stored Through Payment Apps

Payment apps that allow consumers and businesses to quickly send and send money also often provide the ability for users to store those funds. Funds stored on these platforms often lack deposit insurance coverage and are at risk of loss in the event of financial distress or failure of the entity operating the payment platform.

Category: Data spotlight |
Published

Overdraft/NSF Revenue in Q4 2022 down nearly 50% versus pre-pandemic levels

Overdraft/NSF revenue for the fourth quarter of 2022 alone was approximately $1.5 billion lower than in the fourth quarter of 2019 – a decrease of 48% compared to before the pandemic, suggesting an annual reduction of over $5.5 billion going forward. This decrease suggests average annual savings of more than $150 per household that incurs overdraft or NSF fees; many households have saved much more.

Category: Industry and markets |
Published

Medical Credit Cards and Financing Plans

This report highlights some of the risks to consumers of using financing products such as medical credit cards and installment loans to pay for medical procedures and services. The report provides a background on these products, highlights potential lack of transparency and financial risks to consumers, analyzes data on deferred interest healthcare credit cards, and offers a summary of the terms for a sample of financing products.

Category: Office of Research Publication |
Published

Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) Financing and Consumer Financial Outcomes

This report documents research findings on PACE financing from 2014 through 2020. This is in support of the PACE rulemaking mandated by EGRRCPA. We find that for consumers whose PACE loans are originated, mortgage delinquency rates increase by 2.5 percentage points over a two-year period following PACE origination, compared to those whose applications were only approved. These effects are larger for consumers with lower credit scores and with more expensive loans.

Category: Data point | Category: Office of Research Publication |
Published

Consumer Credit and the Removal of Medical Collections from Credit Reports

The three nationwide consumer reporting companies removed medical collections under $500 from credit reports in April 2023. We study removals of medical collections from credit reports that occurred between 2012-2020 to shed light on the potential effects of this reporting change. We find associated increases in credit score and credit availability.

Category: Office of Research Publication |
Published

Insights into Consumers’ Financial Standing and Distress from 2019-2022: Evidence from a CDFI

This staff report provides a window into the financial circumstances faced by customers of Southern Bancorp Bank, a CDFI that serves some of the most economically underserved areas in the United States. We explore how account balances and the share of customers with a negative account balance evolved from 2019 to 2022.

Category: Consumer complaint | Category: To Congress |
Published

2022 Consumer Response annual report

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau began consumer response operations on July 21, 2011, and became the first federal agency solely focused on consumer financial protection. The Bureau’s Consumer Response team hears directly from consumers about the challenges they face in the marketplace, brings their concerns to the attention of financial institutions, and assists in addressing their complaints.

Category: Industry and markets |
Published

Supplemental estimation methodology for institutional coverage and market-level cost estimates in the small business lending rulemaking

This report describes the CFPB’s methodology for estimating how many banks will be required to report under the small business lending rule and for producing market-level estimates of associated costs.

Category: Supervisory Highlights |
Published

Supervisory Highlights Junk Fees Special Edition, Issue 29, Winter 2023

This is the 29th edition of Supervisory Highlights. The findings in this report cover examinations involving fees in the areas of deposits, auto servicing, mortgage servicing, payday and small dollar lending, and student loan servicing completed between July 1, 2022, and February 1, 2023.

Category: Office of Research Publication |
Published

Report on the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act Rule Voluntary Review

This report contains the findings of the Bureau’s voluntary review of the final rule on the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act the Bureau issued in October 2015 (2015 HMDA Final Rule) and related amendments (collectively, the HMDA Rule).

Category: To Congress |
Published

GAO-IG Act Reporting

On January 3, 2019, the Good Accounting Obligation in Government Act (GAO-IG Act) was enacted as Public Law number 115-414. The GAO-IG Act requires agencies to annually submit a report to Congress on the status of open public audit recommendations. This report is published by the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection in compliance with that law.

Category: Industry and markets |
Published

Market Snapshot: Trends in Third-Party Debt Collections Tradelines Reporting

This report provides an overview of the trends in third-party debt collections tradelines on consumer credit reports from 2018 to 2022. A collections tradeline is an item on a consumer’s credit report. It includes information about an individual’s allegedly unpaid bills. Collections tradelines, which are considered negative, generally may appear on a consumer report for up to seven years.

Published

2022 CFPB Annual Employee Survey Results

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) administered its Annual Employee Survey (AES) from September 6 to October 7, 2022. Of the employee population, 68.9% responded to the survey. CFPB leaders use feedback from tools such as the AES to develop strategies to promote a more inclusive, effective, and efficient organization. Survey results are shared across the organization to encourage leaders to actively seek and respond to opportunities to improve the employee work experience.