Protect Borrowers issues plan for states to increase financial services oversight

Consumer advocacy organization Protect Borrowers released a proposal this week for states to step up their supervision of the consumer finance market in light of the precipitous decline of federal oversight, i.e. the crippling of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and the rise in new loans and other products. Specifically, Protect Borrowers recommends that states open “offices of supervision policy” to monitor financial services companies. The organization said that states should more fully utilize their authority “to request and review data” from companies to ensure their compliance with the law. The detailed memo examines states’ current use of their supervisory authority, and proposes a structure and functions for supervisory offices. “Supervision for compliance with consumer financial laws is simply “behind the scenes” law enforcement and should be biased towards consumer protection for it to serve its original purpose,” the memo said. Read the memo here.