WASHINGTON–An official with the CFPB has asked credit unions for their help in pointing members of the military to some of the services the agency offers.
Holly Petraeus, assistant director with the CFPB’s Office of Service Member Affairs, told NAFCU’s Congressional Caucus her department has three missions: to see military members and their families get strong financial education; to monitor their complaints to the agency, and to coordinate related efforts at national and federal levels. She spent most of her time on the education piece.
“It’s been kind of challenging to keep up with all the changes at the DoD, and they have a large, new mandate around financial education with a new Office of Readiness,” said Petraeus. “They have their work cut out for them. I wouldn’t be surprised if they will be reaching out to their on-base credit unions to help them with the task. So what are we doing to help out? One thing we’ve talked about that is now a reality; a graphic style novel offered online for those about to enter active duty but who have not yet gotten to boot camp that provides some basic education about financial ed. We have another service for the other end of a person’s time in the military, and that’s financial coaching to help people as they enter civilian life. Forty coaches have been so hired so far, most at Department of Labor’s Job Services. We have delivered services to 3,000 veterans to date. One of the biggest challenges for our coaches is getting the word out to the veteran community that they are trustworthy. So if you encounter veterans in transition who would benefit from time with one of our coaches, I hope you would consider referring them.”
Petraeus said the CFPB has also added tele-coaching and created financial ed videos.
Petraeus also spoke to the complaints the CFPB receives from members of the military, which generally mirror those from the general public, with complaints related to debt collection and mortgages leading the way. She said the number of complaints around debt collection from military members is actually double the number from civilians.