Payday and other short-term lenders are questioning the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s competence, saying the regulatory agency has fallen short of carrying out basic functions, MorningConsult.com reported today. The Community Financial Services Association of America, a trade group representing short-term lenders, recently laid out concerns about the accuracy of the CFPB’s communications materials in a letter to Director Richard Cordray. Payday lenders, the target of pending CFPB rules proposed in June, argue that their companies fill a void in necessary services in low-income communities where bank accounts are sparse. Small-dollar, short-term lenders have also asserted that the consumer agency wants to starve out, not just regulate, their industry.
