Waters Statement on the CFPB’s Weak Settlement with State Farm Bank

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Following the announcement that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (Consumer Bureau) settled with State Farm Bank, FSB, over the misuse of consumer credit information without imposing a civil penalty, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the House Committee on Financial Services, made the following statement:

“To cap off his harmful tenure at the Consumer Bureau, Mick Mulvaney has chosen to once again turn a blind eye to predatory behavior.

“I am deeply troubled by the Consumer Bureau’s announcement that State Farm Bank will not be held accountable for violating the law by improperly obtaining consumer reports and providing credit bureaus with inaccurate information. Financial institutions that abuse consumers need to face real consequences and State Farm Bank, which has over $16 billion in assets, is no exception.

“Congress specifically designed the Consumer Bureau to protect hardworking Americans from unfair, deceptive or abusive practices and I am committed to ensuring it can resume its important work.”

Ranking Member Waters has consistently led efforts to protect America’s consumers. Most recently, she has expressed concern about issues at the Consumer Bureau, including a proposal to weaken the Consumer Bureau’s “no-action letter” policy and a Consumer Bureau analysis on excessive account fees charged to students by large banks that was only revealed in a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) disclosure.

In October, Ranking Member Waters announced the introduction of H.R. 6972, the Consumers First Act, a bill to block the Trump Administration’s anti-consumer agenda and reverse efforts, led by Mick Mulvaney, Director of the Office of Management and Budget, to dismantle the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau from within. This legislation is co-sponsored by Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), Rep. William Lacy Clay (D-MO), Rep. Al Green (D-TX), Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO), and Rep. Gwen Moore (D-WI), senior members of the House Financial Services Committee.

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