On the recordJuly 7, 2016
This is an ambiguous and punitive amendment which could prevent the Bureau from making seniors, servicemembers, and students aware of predatory financial practices, interrupt the Bureau's ability to work with consumer advocates and the financial services industry on consumer education, and keep American consumers in the dark about the only agency designed specifically to protect their interests. For every dollar spent on financial education, $25 is spent on financial marketing. You can see that for yourself by searching for a ``car loan'' or ``credit card offer'' on Google, or looking through the junk you get in your mailbox every week. In fact, marketing of these products has become so pervasive, Google recently banned advertising for payday loans on the basis they were harmful to Google's own customers. The Bureau has developed a number of tools that we should all be helping to make Americans more aware of, including a great set of resources on home ownership and mortgages called ``Know Before You Owe,'' as well as an online tool that arms consumers with the information they need to identify the most competitively priced loans in the marketplace. The Bureau has used Internet advertising, as well as TV advertising, through GSA-approved contractors that offer advertising management services to get the word out about these important resources that help consumers plan for their financial futures and save their hard-earned money.…
