Departments & agenciesView all actions on the Federal Register
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
Independent agenciesAt-will removalSelf-funded
At a glance
Type
Independent agencies
Removal of leadership
Removable at will
Appointed by
Appointed by the President, confirmed by the Senate
Structure
Single Director
Term
5-year term
Funding
Outside annual appropriations
Independence
Independent
By statute (12 U.S.C. 5491(c)) the Director served a 5-year term removable only for inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance. Seila Law LLC v. CFPB, 591 U.S. 197 (2020) held that for-cause removal of the single Director violated separation of powers; the Court severed the restriction, so the Director is now removable by the President at will. The Fed-based self-funding outside annual appropriations was upheld 7-2 in CFPB v. Community Financial Services Assn. of America, 601 U.S. 416 (2024).
What it does
The CFPB writes and enforces federal rules against unfair, deceptive, or abusive practices in consumer finance, covering products like mortgages, credit cards, student and auto loans, and payday lending. It supervises large banks and many nonbank financial companies, fields consumer complaints, and can bring enforcement actions against firms that break federal consumer-protection laws.
FinancialConsumer ProtectionBankingJustice
How it fits
Created by Congress under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, Title X (Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010) (Pub. L. 111-203; 12 U.S.C. 5491 et seq.), it acts within the authority that statute grants. Its actions are subject to judicial review and to congressional oversight and funding.
Recent actions
Agency Information Collection Activities: Comment Request.
Interagency Rescission of the Interagency Statement on Special Purpose Credit Programs Under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act and Regulation B
Regulatory Agenda
Request for Information Regarding Promoting Access to Mortgage Credit
Financial Data Transparency Act Joint Data Standards
Equal Credit Opportunity (Regulation B); Special Purpose Credit Programs; Rescission
Statement on Ability To Repay and Immigration Status
Privacy Act of 1974; System of Records