The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s penalties against companies have significantly decreased in recent months as the agency has pivoted its focus to small-time violators.
The bureau’s enforcement actions, under Director Kathy Kraninger, have slowed down compared to former Director Richard Cordray’s tenure. Monetary penalties and consumer redress amounts have also declined under Kraninger, in part because the CFPB has targeted smaller companies that in many instances are unable to pay.
“When you’re doing the cleanup around the edges, the relief that you get for consumers is not going to be meaningful,” said Diane Thompson, an Open Society Foundation fellow and ...