CFPB Partners with New York City to Build Local Consumer Protection Capacity Nationwide

CFPB

On April 2, the CFPB and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced a partnership between those entities and the Mayor’s Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund (CFE Fund) to help cities around the country “enhance their local consumer protection and financial empowerment abilities.” The CFE Fund provides technical assistance and funding for the Cities for Financial Empowerment Coalition, a group of municipal governments dedicated to using municipal powers and opportunities to help their residents with low incomes achieve financial stability. The CFE Fund assists local leaders to identify, develop, fund, and implement pilots and programs designed to help families build assets and maximize their financial resources. In addition to New York City, the Coalition includes San Francisco, Chicago, Hawai'i County, Los Angeles, Louisville, Miami, Newark, Providence, San Antonio, Savannah, and Seattle. The partnership with the CFPB also is intended to leverage New York City’s Department of Consumer Affairs, which enforces local consumer protection laws through licensing and other regulatory powers, and empowers consumers with low incomes through professional financial counseling, safe banking, and asset building programming.