Congressman Beyer, Consumer Advocates Denounce CFPB ‘Head’ Mulvaney for Supporting Predatory Payday Loans
Outside the CFPB today, consumer advocates posing as loan sharks “celebrated” Mulvaney, and then held a press conference with Congressman Don Beyer (D-Alexandria, Va.) to denounce Mulvaney’s anti-consumer actions. Watch the video.
Standing Outside the CFPB, Group Calls for an End to Mulvaney Era of Taking “Wrecking Ball” to Consumer Protections
Consumers Across Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin and Other States Protested Today Against Predatory Payday Lending
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Don Beyer (D-Alexandria, Va.) and consumer advocates held a press conference calling for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) acting “head” Mick Mulvaney to end practices that trap Americans in predatory payday loan debt traps.
“As de-facto head of the Consumer Bureau, Mick Mulvaney has taken a wrecking ball to consumer protections. He is using the CFPB to undermine important rules that shield people from predatory payday lending practices. We need a director who understands the CFPB’s core mission, and will fight on the behalf of all consumers,” said Congressman Beyer.
“Mick Mulvaney’s claim that he is protecting consumers from financial predators is ridiculous. Instead, Mulvaney is feeding consumers to payday loan sharks, going so far as to drop cases against debt trap lenders who broke the law and trap low-income Americans in a horrific cycle of debt. Mulvaney needs to go!” said José A., Payday Campaign Manager at Americans for Financial Reform.
Additional Background
This “Stop The Debt Trap” campaign event is part of the nationwide Days of Action against predatory payday lending. Other events are being held in Illinois, Indiana, Maine, Montana, New Jersey, Tennessee, Virginia, and Wisconsin.
As the unlawfully appointed Acting Director of the CFPB, Mick Mulvaney has taken several actions that harm consumers and help financial predators, especially payday lenders. For example, he ordered career attorneys at the CFPB to drop a case against Golden Valley Lending and three other payday lending companies that charged interest rates up to 950 percent. Just last week, a lawyer for National Credit Adjusters, a debt collector for payday lenders, confirmed to Reuters that a pending case against the company had been dropped. Reuters also reported that Mulvaney might soon kill three other cases against payday lenders that former agency head Richard Cordray, before his departure, had approved for litigation.
Mulvaney also reopened the CFPB’s finalized rule on payday and car-title loans. This action began the process for administratively unwinding and possibly killing this critical consumer protection rule. Last week, Senator Lindsey Graham introduced a payday rule Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution, a fast-track vehicle to eliminate the rule and prevent future agencies from issuing a similar rule. Mulvaney has voiced support for this CRA.
Earlier this week, Senator Durbin and 42 other senators wrote a letter to Mulvaney questioning his actions in support of the payday loan debt trap.