Consumer Advocates Criticize CFPB Enforcement Policy

The Student Borrower Protection Center ("SBPC") and the Consumer Federation of America ("CFA") accused the Trump administration of systematically dismantling the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's ("CFPB") enforcement program.

In a joint memorandum, SBPC and CFA argued that Acting Director Russell Vought is attempting to "gut the nation's only federal consumer financial law enforcement agency" by seeking to fire 80 percent of its enforcement staff. The consumer advocates highlighted that 22 pending enforcement actions have been dismissed and at least 10 settled cases—where companies had agreed to compensate victims—have been rolled back. The consumer advocates estimate that over $360 million owed to Americans has already been pulled back or is now at risk.

The SBPC and CFA highlighted that the CFPB has wiped out more than $120 million in consumer redress by reversing settlements where companies had already agreed to compensate victims. The consumer advocates pointed to three cases where the CFPB explicitly terminated companies’ obligations to pay and a fourth where it slashed a civil penalty. They flagged: (i) the termination of an order requiring Navy Federal Credit Union to repay $80 million in illegal overdraft fees; (ii) the CFPB's decision to vacate a $48 million redress order against Toyota Motor Credit for deceptive loan add-ons and false credit reporting; and (iii) the abandonment of a $2.25 million student borrower settlement with National Collegiate Student Loan Trusts. They also highlighted a fourth case in which the CFPB reduced a $2 million penalty against Wise to just $44,955. 

The SBPC and CFA warned that more than $244 million in additional CFPB-ordered redress is at risk due to termination of enforcement actions. They stated that while $550 million in redress was ordered in 2024 alone, much of it may never reached consumers. They pointed to several major cases at risk, including: (i) up to $120 million from Block/Cash App for "weak security protocols;" (ii) $100 million from Navient for student loan abuses; (iii) $10.3 million from Honda for credit reporting failures; (iv) nearly $3 million from the National Collegiate Student Loan Trusts and PHEAA; and (v) $11.5 million from Sutherland Global for mortgage servicing violations.

The SBPC and CFA also criticized the CFPB for halting regular reporting on the victim's relief fund, leaving the public in the dark about whether harmed consumers are receiving payments. They argued that the absence of updates since January 5, 2025, reflects a "lack of transparency" around how much money has been collected, allocated, or disbursed.