WASHINGTON, D.C.— Brady Williams, Legal Counsel, issued the following statement on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB’s) unveiling of rules to create a more transparent banking system that will spur competition:

“The CFPB’s new rule will eliminate barriers to competition, empower consumers with greater control over their financial data, and provide new protections against potential misuse of data by financial service providers. We applaud the CFPB for this important proposal and know that it will make a real difference in the lives of Main Street Americans.

“This rule will also have an enormous impact on minority opportunities throughout our country. Decades of discriminatory financial practices have disproportionately affected communities of color, contributing to a significant portion of the population being unbanked or underbanked. In a joint-comment submitted to the CFPB in December 2023, Better Markets joined other consumer advocates in emphasizing the urgent need to create a regulatory framework to combat these injustices and the need to further strengthen the proposal by expanding the types of data providers covered under the rule to include certain non-depository entities, including credit bureaus, collection agencies, non-bank lenders, and issuers of Electronic Benefit (EBT) Cards. We’re glad to see some of the suggested provisions in the final rule.”

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Better Markets is a non-profit, non-partisan, and independent organization founded to promote the public interest in the financial markets, support the financial reform of Wall Street and make our financial system work for all Americans again. Better Markets works with allies—including many in finance—to promote pro-market, pro-business and pro-growth policies that help build a stronger, safer financial system that protects and promotes Americans’ jobs, savings, retirements and more. To learn more, visit www.bettermarkets.org.