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Sources and uses of data at the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection

The Dodd-Frank Act states that the Bureau "shall seek to implement and … enforce Federal consumer financial law consistently for the purpose of ensuring that all consumers have access to markets for consumer financial products and services and that [those markets] are fair, transparent, and competitive." Data informs this work to a great extent.

To fulfill its statutory functions and obligations, the Bureau obtains data to inform its decisions.  These activities include:  

  • Writing rules, supervising companies, and enforcing the law
  • Taking consumer complaints
  • Providing financial education
  • Researching the consumer experience of using financial products
  • Monitoring financial markets for new risks to consumers

This report describes the Bureau’s data governance program as well as what data the Bureau collects, where the data come from, how data are used, and how data are reused within the Bureau.  

On June 27, 2019, the Bureau published a supplement that includes information on voluntarily-provided consumer data assets and the third-party costs associated with the purchase and/or collection of information.

Sources and uses of data

Read the full report

Read the full supplement

Data governance policies, charters, and data sharing procedures

List of Bureau MOUs