Under Mulvaney, CFPB Goes Longest Stretch of Time Without Enforcement Action


Since Mick Mulvaney’s became “Acting Director” of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) in November of 2017, the CFPB has not issued a single enforcement action against a financial company. This is the longest stretch of time that the CFPB has gone without an enforcement action in the history of the agency.

Enforcement is important for holding bad actors accountable, for deterring future unlawful actions, and for securing justice for consumers who’ve been harmed.

Additional Background

“In the 135 days since the Trump administration took control of the nation’s consumer watchdog agency, it has not recorded a single enforcement action against banks, credit card companies, debt collectors or any finance companies whatsoever. That’s likely no fluke: Mick Mulvaney, appointed acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in late November, promised to shrink the bureau’s mandate and take a much softer approach to enforcement, and records reviewed by The Associated Press indicate he has kept his word. A review of a CFPB database obtained by the AP through a Freedom of Information request shows that the bureau issued an average of two to four enforcement actions a month under former Director Richard Cordray, President Obama’s appointee. But the database shows zero enforcement actions have been taken since Nov. 21, 2017, three days before Cordray resigned…. This is the longest stretch without enforcement actions in the CFPB’s history.” [Ken Sweet, “Under Trump, a voice for the American consumer goes silent” Associated Press, 04/10/18.]

“‘Enforcement is very important,’ said Lauren Saunders, associate director at the National Consumer Law Center, a consumer advocacy organization and a critic of Mulvaney. ‘If a company violates the law, it needs to be held accountable and called out instead of being quietly admonished through supervision.’… ‘Enforcement is one of the most important parts of CFPB, because of the signals it is able to send to markets,’ Saunders said.” [Ken Sweet, “Under Trump, a voice for the American consumer goes silent” Associated Press, 04/10/18.]