The current department regulates a significant part of the financial services industry, including banks and credit unions. But the expanded version will add oversight authority over debt collectors, debt settlement, credit repair and check cashing services, consumer credit reporting, retail sales financing and rent-to-own contracts.
“We need the state to lead as the federal government is pulling away from financial protection,” Newsom said.
Proponents said the change will boost consumer protections by expanding the department’s ability to require accountability and transparency in the state’s financial system while increasing equal access to affordable credit.
Richard Cordray, who was the federal bureau’s first director under former President Barack Obama from 2012 to 2017, said he and other consumer advocates began pushing for…
