The CFE Fund and the National Consumer Law Center co-wrote this report, outlining the tremendous and deeply flawed role that account screening consumer reporting agencies (“CRAs”) play in determining whether consumers can obtain a bank or credit union account. The report raises concerns about these companies and financial institutions’ use of their reports, and offers solutions both for industry leaders and regulators.
Project Category: Bank On
CFE Coalition Comment Letter on the FDIC National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Households
The 15-member CFE Coalition has weighed in on key federal policy issues since its founding in 2008.
In this 2015 letter, the Coalition affirms that the information collected through the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation’s (FDIC’s) National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Households is useful and necessary, especially to inform Bank On programming and aligned financial products. The Coalition highlights specific questions from the Survey that have proved especially useful for member cities’ work, and urges the FDIC to keep as many questions as possible in the Survey. Finally, the Coalition asks for the ability to create custom tables from the data; encourages the FDIC to offer training for municipalities and others on how to use the tool; and urges caution as the FDIC explores moving towards online survey responses, given some un/underbanked and low-income consumers’ reluctance to submit personal information via online platforms.