Fact Sheets Shed Light On the Millions of Consumers Who Have Called On the Watchdog for Help and Benefited from its Work to Rein In Predatory and Abusive Financial Institutions
February 24, 2025 | WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Student Borrower Protection Center (SBPC), Americans for Financial Reform (AFR), and Consumer Federation of America (CFA) released a series of state fact sheets highlighting the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) monumental impact on consumers nationwide. The data reveals the number of Americans in each state who reached out to the agency for help and who have benefitted from the CFPB’s work to hold companies accountable for abusive, predatory, and deceptive practices.
See the fact sheets here: https://protectborrowers.org/statewide-fact-sheets-on-the-impact-of-the-consumer-financial-protection-bureau/
“From student loan borrowers, to seniors, servicemembers, and military families, the CFPB has been the first line of defense for every day Americans targeted by predatory financial institutions. Last year alone, every state and territory saw a surge in complaints filed with the agency—a testament to its critical and growing role as financial defender for everyday Americans,” said SBPC Deputy Executive Director Persis Yu. “Now that Trump and Vought have halted the work of the Bureau, millions of Americans desperate for help are being forced to fend for themselves as greedy companies prey on working families, squeezing every penny they can to line their pockets. We need the CFPB back to work—now.”
“This clear state-by-state breakdown of consumer complaints further reiterates the CFPB’s critical consumer protection role,” said Amanda Jackson, campaigns director at the AFR. “People across the country, coming from different states and geographies, all benefit from the transparency and accountability offered by the CFPB and its consumer complaints database.”
“These fact sheets are proof positive that the CFPB has helped millions of people with their financial problems. Rather than getting stuck in a customer service doom loop, the Bureau’s complaint tool gives individuals a path forward to resolving a dispute,” said Erin Witte, CFA’s Director of Consumer Protection. “Every day that the CFPB is not doing its job is another day that financial institutions can rip off Americans without being held accountable by their most effective watchdog.”
The data comes as the CFPB faces serious, unprecedented threats to its existence. Earlier this month, the Trump Administration effectively muzzled the agency, halting all supervisory and enforcement activities, including ongoing investigations and lawsuits.
Acting CFPB Director Russell Vought—key architect of the right-wing Project 2025 playbook—has further undermined the agency’s mission, refusing to comply with nearly 90 congressional mandates designed to protect consumers and halting 38 pending CFPB enforcement actions. Dozens of staff—including the student loan ombudsman—have been illegally fired, and the agency’s headquarters have been shuttered for weeks.
Background
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is the nation’s top watchdog protecting Americans against predatory lenders and corporate fraudsters. Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) have taken over the CFPB, including gaining access to sensitive data and confidential supervisory information that the CFPB gathers from companies in order to keep consumers safe. Vought has also brought the oversight work of the consumer protection agency to a halt, closing the HQ offices and directing staff to stay home.
Created in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, Congress gave the explicit directives to establish offices and programming dedicated to protecting vulnerable consumers, issue regulations to govern particular industries, and ensure transparent access to information about consumer financial products. Since opening its doors, the CFPB has directly obtained over $21 billion in relief for over 205 million people from companies that illegally cheated consumers. This includes more than $5 billion in relief for Americans with student debt, and uncovering evidence that led to the U.S. Department of Education cancelling $188.8 billion of student debt for 5.3 million borrowers. The CFPB has been hard at work over the last decade and is broadly popular among both Democratic and Republican voters, and the agency has received support across many different sectors.
In addition to returning billions of hard-earned dollars back to the pockets of consumers, the CFPB has issued regulations that promote fairer and more competitive credit markets, and investigated hundreds of businesses that rip off members of the military, students, seniors, and everyday Americans.
Further Reading
SBPC and CFA memo identifying 38 active enforcement actions: Trump and Vought Desert Consumers and Working Families Amid Violations by Predatory Financial Companies
SBPC and CFA memo identifying 87 congressionally imposed mandates Director Vought is refusing to perform: Advocates Applaud Lawsuits Challenging Trump and Vought’s Corrupt and Unlawful Attempt to “Delete” Consumer Watchdog Agency, CFPB
SBPC press release on CFPB Student Loan Ombudsman firing: Trump, Vought, and Musk Team Up to Abandon Students and Borrowers, Illegally Fire Top Student Loan Industry Watchdog
CFA press release on CFPB workers ordered to stop working: CFA Statement in Response to Announcement That the CFPB Will Halt Supervisory Work
SBPC memo on Twitter/X payments: Twitter/X Payments: Public Corruption Poses Risks for Consumers and Competition
SBPC blog on Musk and DOGE illegal attempt to “delete” CFPB: Elon and DOGE Are Attempting To Illegally “Delete” the CFPB, Here Is Why This Matters To Student Loan Borrower
SBPC press release on CFPB Director Chopra’s firing: CFPB Director Chopra’s Firing Tops Oligarchs’ Wishlist, Foreshadows Swing in Consumer Agency Priorities to Benefit Big Banks and Billionaires
2025 statewide and congressional district fact sheets on the student loan debt crisis: https://protectborrowers.org/2025-statewide-congressional-district-factsheets-of-the-student-loan-debt-crisis/
National polling demonstrating that college costs and student debt remain a top economic concern to voters: https://protectborrowers.org/release-november-2024-poll-student-debt-electorate/
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