As of August 2026, the federal agency charged with supervising banks and other financial institutions that offer consumer products and services, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), is barely standing following an all-out attack by the Trump Administration. As a result, there is an enormous gap in the federal oversight of financial markets that greatly heightens risks to consumers.
State regulators already have the authority to fill this gap by closely monitoring banks and financial institutions for compliance with consumer protection law. Most states, however, are not using the full extent of this authority.
This memo, authored by former CFPB Supervision Chief Lorelei Salas and Protect Borrowers Legal Director Winston Berkman-Breen, proposes that states should create offices of supervision policy within their existing financial regulators. This is a cost effective way to improve these agencies’ regulatory reach, ensure their regulated institutions’ compliance with state and federal consumer financial laws, and keep up with the surge in industry use of technology and artificial intelligence.
Read the Memo: Creating Offices of Supervision Policy in State Financial Regulators
Read the Press Release: Protect Borrowers Expands Focus on State Law Enforcement, Announces Key Personnel from Federal and State Enforcement Agencies