ARLINGTON, Va.–Given the pandemic and the pressure many Americans have felt when it comes to their finances over the past year, the surge in complaints by consumers to the CFPB should come as no surprise.
But one CU trade group believes it’s also an opportunity to rethink some larger issues.
As CUToday.info reported here, the CFPB is reporting it experienced a 54% increase in consumer complaints during 2020. Complaints related to credit and consumer reporting were the dominant sources of consumer dissatisfaction.
The numbers, released as part of the Bureau’s “Consumer Response Annual Report for 2020, show the agency handled approximately 542,300 complaints last year, a significant increase over the approximately 352,400 complaints handled in 2019.
When it comes to its advocacy work around credit reports, NAFCU EVP and General Counsel Carrie Hunt said the group’s work in the area has primarily focused on consideration of alternative credit report models, as well as other issues.
“There is certainly the question of whether the big three credit reporting agencies have sufficient oversight,” said Hunt. “But when it comes to credit reports in general, it’s certainly an issue credit unions take seriously.”
Hunt noted many credit unions have gone to lengths to help members in financial crises during the pandemic, which can sometimes lead to issues down the road on credit reports.
“Credit unions are doing what they can to help,” she said.
Credit Unions & Climate Change
The Federal Reserve said it plans to launch two new committees that will focus on the impact of climate change on financial stability. Speaking to the Ceres 2021 Conference in Boston via a webcast, Federal Gov. Lael Brainard said the agency is finding it “increasingly clear” that climate change could have “important implications” for the future.
NAFCU’s Carrie Hunt said the group also agrees it’s an issue that needs to be discussed among credit unions, including ways CUs can do their part to support sustainable energy sources and technologies, such as lending for solar power systems.
She added another issue that deserves to be reviewed is the degree to which banks hold major investments in energy companies.
But there’s another issue a little closer to the forefront of attention, she reminded.
“We still need to get out from under COVID and get things stable first,” she said.
Pot Bill in the Senate
With the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act, which provides a number of protections for financial institutions serving cannabis businesses in states where marijuana has been legalized in some form, now reintroduced in the Senate, the question is will it make it any further than it did in the prior Senate.
It’s a hazy question, acknowledged Hunt. Under Republican control of the Senate, Sen. Mike Crapo (D-ID) had been opposed to legalization at the federal level, scuttling the bill’s chances. Now, Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) chairs the Senate Banking Committee and supports the bill, but he also supports broader issues related to legalization. And that, said Hunt, could mean the SAFE Act is once again bogged down in the Senate.