Now that the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is up and running, consumers and business owners alike may be anxiously wondering what financial reforms can be expected as well as what bodies will fall under the bureau’s magnifying glass.
While the full effect of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s regulation and oversight remains to be seen, its overall aim is to protect the consumer by carefully examining and regulating various financial instruments, such as mortgage loans, credit card agreements, pay day loans, and private student loans.
The following is a brief rundown of some of the duties already slated for action:
- Creating more transparency in credit card documentation and loan contracts.
- Ensuring that consumers are able to get a credit score with their free credit report.
- Setting more stringent standards for lenders when verifying a borrower’s financial information and background.
- Creating more transparency and fairness regarding fees- from bank overdraft to mortgage pre-payment penalty fees.
It sounds good in theory. Yet much speculation is brewing that it will bring little financial relief to consumers and in the end will only raise the cost of financial transactions. Only time will tell.