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Since the 1990s, I have been reading about banks and mortgage brokers tricking home buyers into signing disastrous loan agreements. People without access to lawyers find out, after it is too late, that buried in the terms of the contract are rate increases and other tricks that drive the payments to way above market rates. Often these predatory loans are targeted to Black borrowers. These hidden terms can ruin lives.
Another big – but not widely known – accomplishment of the Obama Administration was the creation of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). In its first twelve years, it addressed nearly 4 million complaints and obtained over $17 billion in payouts for companies that cheated people borrowing money for homes, cars, and even college.
CFPB was another agency that Republicans hated and the Trump Administration weakened, but it was revived by the Biden. The Biden Administration also used other levers of government to help consumers. It announced plans to ban hidden “junk fees” for hotels, banks, concerts, and air travel. Its work against monopolies is potentially much more impactful [note 4].