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19
BILL TAKES
AIM AT CFPB'S
COMPLAINT
DATABASE
Rep. Matt Salmon (R-Arizona) has
introduced a bill that proposes to provide
more context and clarity to the complaints
received by the Consumer Financial
Protection Bureau (CFPB) in its controversial
Consumer Complaint Database.
e bill, known as the CFPB Data
Accountability Act, would require the CFPB
to verify and put into context the consumer
complaints they are presenting.
"Under current law, the CFPB launched a
Consumer Complaint Database that serves as
a mechanism to inform the consumer about
potentially troublesome institutions," Salmon
said. "We owe it to the American people to
make this information as accurate and as clear
as possible. Unfortunately, the current database
is disorganized and does little to provide the
American people with important information
to inform their decision-making. My bill would
improve the current database by requiring the
CFPB to verify the facts of each complaint
and present this information in an aggregated
format so that consumers have better access
to CFPB-collected data and can make better
decisions about their financial futures."
e CFPB launched its Consumer
Complaint Database in 2012, a year after the
Bureau opened its doors, as a way to help
consumers make informed and responsible
decisions about financial transactions, and to
ensure the transparent and efficient operations
of markets for consumer financial products.
In June 2015, the Bureau began publishing
consumers' narratives of complaints; some
analysts and stakeholders in financial markets
say that since the CFPB does not verify the
allegations made in the complaints, in some
cases the Bureau may just be offering up the
biased opinions of disgruntled individuals for
everyone to see.
Approximately 33 percent of
all residential home sales in
March 2016 were all-cash
transactions, a decline of 2.4
percentage points year-over-
year, according to CoreLogic.
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