GOP vows to free Wall Street of safeguards, accountability - By Steve Benen
It didn’t 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.
“Don’t 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, that’s very likely the point of Cruz’s new bill – the CFPB appears to be too effective for many conservatives in cracking down on financial-sector excesses.
more
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/gop-vows-free-wall-street-safeguards-accountability?cid=eml_mra_20150722
