PROVIDENCE – In his first report as acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Mick Mulvaney is calling his agency “too powerful.”
Mulvaney, an outspoken critic of the bureau, has called on U.S. Congress to rein back the authority of the federal agency. The bureau was created under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act after the financial crisis pushed the country into the worst recession since the Great Depression.
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“The bureau is far too powerful, with precious little oversight of its activities,” Mulvaney said in the semi-annual report.
He’s requesting Congress make four changes, which would – in broad strokes – make the bureau less independent.
The recommendations include giving Congress authority over any rulemaking and funds for the bureau, having the director report directly to the president and to create an independent inspector.
“The power wielded by the director of the bureau could all too easily be used to harm consumers, destroy businesses, or arbitrarily remake American financial markets,” Mulvaney said.
The bureau handled about 317,200 consumer complaints from Oct. 1, 2016, to Sept. 30, 2017. About 27 percent – the largest portion – were related to debt collection, which is a major issue in Rhode Island.
The bureau in recent years has implemented new rules surrounding payday lending, which is a popular – and potentially detrimental – lending practice, especially in Rhode Island.
Eli Sherman is a PBN staff writer. Email him at Sherman@PBN.com, or follow him on Twitter @Eli_Sherman.
