Banking and Finance Law Daily Wrap Up, CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION BUREAU—Cordray promotes K-12 financial efforts at Jump$tart awards dinner , (Apr 9, 2014)

By J. Preston Carter, J.D., LL.M.

“Through collaboration and combined efforts we can help ensure that every young American can gain the knowledge, skills, and resources required to build healthy financial futures,” said Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Richard Cordray, accepting the Jump$tart Coalition’s 2014 “Stand Up for Financial Literacy” award.

The Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy® is a non-profit coalition of organizations that share an interest in advancing financial literacy among students in pre-kindergarten through college. Cordray said the bureau plans to continue to work with organizations such as Jump$tart to promote K-12 financial education efforts nationally.

Cordray said the CFPB understands that a federal agency has an important role to play in protecting consumers in the financial marketplace. “Yet we also recognize,” he continued, “that the single best form of consumer protection is self-protection, which means helping people avoid problems in the first place and knowing how to address problems when they do occur.”

Existing financial resources. To that end, Cordray explained, the bureau provides resources to help consumers look out for themselves on its website at consumerfinance.gov. “Ask CFPB” is a database of over one thousand questions frequently asked by consumers, along with our best expert answers. Its “Paying for College” set of tools walks families through the key issues involved in figuring out how to navigate their choices to finance higher education.

Future resources. The next module in the works at the bureau, according to Cordray, will focus on the considerations and steps involved in “Owning a Home.” The CFPB is also undertaking an initiative called “Your Money, Your Goals,” which helps those who work with low-income and economically vulnerable consumers.

Post financial crisis. In his concluding remarks, Cordray told the audience that as we emerge from the financial and economic crisis, “we can now begin to see it as a painful wake-up call.” The choices people “face in the financial marketplace—with mortgages, credit cards, auto loans, student loans, credit reporting, and more—are increasingly complex. We have an opportunity to do better by our children and by all of our fellow Americans.”

Companies: Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy®

RegulatoryActivity: CFPB ConsumerCredit FinancialStability Loans Mortgages