Research and reports

This is a special edition of Supervisory Highlights that details the Bureau’s Prioritized Assessment (PA) work. PA observations are described in the areas of mortgage, auto and student loan servicing, credit card account management, consumer reporting-furnishing, debt collection, deposits, prepaid cards, and small business lending.

The report does not impose any new or different legal requirements, and all observations described in the report are based only on those specific facts and circumstances noted during those PAs.

In this edition of Supervisory Highlights, we report examination findings in the areas of consumer reporting, debt collection, deposits, fair lending, mortgage servicing and payday lending. The report does not impose any new or different legal requirements, and all violations described in the report are based only on those specific facts and circumstances noted during those examinations.

Quarterly consumer credit trends reports focus on a specific consumer financial product or issue using a longitudinal, nationally representative sample of de-identified credit records maintained by a nationwide consumer reporting agency.

The Bureau is pleased to submit to Congress its annual report summarizing the Bureau’s activities along with those of the Federal Trade Commission to administer the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA).

Between May and September 2019, the CFPB conducted a large-scale online survey experiment designed to test several versions of disclosures to support understanding of time-barred debt and revival. The results of the survey experiment are summarized in this report.  

In September 2019, the CFPB engaged ICF International, Inc., to launch a large-scale online survey experiment designed to test several versions of disclosures to support understanding of time-barred debt and revival. ICF produced this report describing the methodology of this survey experiment, including sampling, response rates, and question development.

In this issue of Supervisory Highlights, we report examination findings in the areas of debt collection, mortgage servicing, payday lending, and student loan servicing that were completed between April 2019 and August 2019. The report does not impose any new or different legal requirements, and all violations described in the report are based only on those specific facts and circumstances noted during those examinations.

In this special issue of Supervisory Highlights, we report examination findings in the areas of consumer reporting and furnishing of information to consumer reporting companies, pursuant to the Fair Credit Reporting Act and Regulation V. The report does not impose any new or different legal requirements, and all violations described in the report are based only on those specific facts and circumstances noted during those examinations. 

The 2019 annual report of the CFPB Private Education Loan Ombudsman covers two years of data, discusses the importance of complaint analysis, and addresses unscrupulous student loan debt relief companies.    

In this issue of Supervisory Highlights, we report examination findings in the areas of automobile loan origination, credit card account management, debt collection, furnishing, and mortgage origination that were generally completed between December 2018 and March 2019 (unless otherwise stated). The report does not impose any new or different legal requirements, and all violations described in the report are based only on those specific facts and circumstances noted during those examinations. 

Every two years, the CFPB reports on the state of the consumer credit card market. This is our report for 2019.

This report provides a brief overview of third-party debt collections tradelines. It compares tradelines from debt buyers to those from other debt collectors.

The Bureau, along with its partners at the Federal Trade Commission, is pleased to submit to Congress its annual report summarizing their 2018 activities to administer the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (“FDCPA”).

One of the primary functions of the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (Bureau) is collecting, investigating, and responding to consumer complaints. The Bureau’s Office of Consumer Response hears directly from consumers about the challenges they face in the marketplace, brings their concerns to the attention of companies, and assists in addressing their complaints. 

Consumers typically pay for telecommunications services monthly, but most providers do not report to consumer reporting agencies unless an account is in collections. In this report, we explore how these debts are reported.

This Complaint Snapshot provides a high-level overview of trends in consumer complaints and supplements the Consumer Response Annual Report with more recent information about monthly changes in complaint volume and a spotlight on debt collection.

The Bureau, along with its partners at the Federal Trade Commission, is pleased to submit to Congress its seventh annual report summarizing their 2017 activities to administer the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (“FDCPA”).

Every two years, the CFPB reports on the state of the consumer credit card market. This is our report for 2017.

In this issue of Supervisory Highlights, we report examination findings in the areas of auto finance lending; credit card account management; debt collection; deposits; mortgage servicing; mortgage origination; service providers; short-term, small-dollar lending; remittances; and fair lending. As in past editions, this report includes information about recent public enforcement actions that were a result, at least in part, of our supervisory work. The report also includes information on the Bureau’s use of its supervisory and enforcement authority, recently released examination procedures, and Bureau guidance.

In this issue of Supervisory Highlights, we report examination findings in the areas of automobile loan servicing, credit cards, debt collection, mortgage servicing, payday lending, and small business lending that were generally completed between December 2017 and May 2018.

Student loan debt is having an increasing impact on older Americans, according to CFPB research.

This is an update from the CFPB Student Loan Ombudsman containing an initial analysis of information provided by student loan servicers on the repayment success of borrowers transitioning from default to an income-driven repayment plan. 

Sixth annual report to Congress on the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.

This report presents the results of the Survey of Consumer Views on Debt, which was conducted by the CFPB between December 2014 and March 2015 to better understand consumers’ experiences and preferences related to debt collection.

This report provides an introduction to the online marketplace for charged-off debt.