GOP vows to free Wall Street of safeguards, accountability - By Steve Benen
It didnt get too much attention, but Citibank received some pretty awful news yesterday. The banking powerhouse was accused of pushing dubious credit card services, presented to millions of consumers in unfortunate ways (charging consumers during free 30-day trial periods, for example).
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which exists thanks to Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and the Dodd-Frank reform law, noticed the Citibank practices and went after the banking giant, accusing it of deceptive marketing, unfair billing, and other unlawful practices. Yesterday, Citibank cried uncle it will pay $700 million to affected consumers, on top of $35 million in penalties.
A few hours later, Republican presidential hopeful Ted Cruz (R-Texas) issued an interesting press release.
On the fourth anniversary of the creation of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Rep. John Ratcliffe (R-Texas-04) have introduced legislation to eliminate it.
Dont let the name fool you, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau does little to protect consumers
Sen. Cruz stated.
The argument might even seem true, were it not for all of the success the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has had
in protecting consumers. Indeed, thats very likely the point of Cruzs new bill the CFPB appears to be too effective for many conservatives in cracking down on financial-sector excesses.
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http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/gop-vows-free-wall-street-safeguards-accountability?cid=eml_mra_20150722