USA — Bureau Seeks Financial Products Info to Protect Troops

WASHINGTON — The Con­sumer Finan­cial Pro­tec­tion Bureau today announced that it is seek­ing pub­lic input on con­sumer finan­cial prod­ucts and ser­vices tai­lored to ser­vice mem­bers and their fam­i­lies.

The infor­ma­tion pro­vid­ed will help the CFPB’s Office of Ser­vice­mem­ber Affairs to devel­op finan­cial edu­ca­tion and out­reach ini­tia­tives for mil­i­tary families. 

“Mil­i­tary fam­i­lies face unique chal­lenges espe­cial­ly when it comes to their finances,” said Hol­ly Petraeus, the assis­tant direc­tor for the Office of Ser­vice­mem­ber Affairs. “We believe that open dia­logue is key to address­ing these challenges. 

“By iden­ti­fy­ing the prod­ucts and ser­vices that aim to assist their par­tic­u­lar needs,” Petraeus con­tin­ued, “our office will be able to bet­ter-serve ser­vice mem­bers and their families.” 

The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Con­sumer Pro­tec­tion Act charged the CFPB with, among oth­er things, edu­cat­ing and empow­er­ing ser­vice mem­bers and their fam­i­lies to make bet­ter informed deci­sions when choos­ing finan­cial ser­vices and products. 

In keep­ing with this com­mit­ment, the CFPB is ask­ing con­sumers, finan­cial ser­vice providers, orga­ni­za­tions, and oth­er mem­bers of the pub­lic to pro­vide infor­ma­tion on con­sumer finan­cial prod­ucts and ser­vices aimed at ser­vice members. 

The OSA is seek­ing infor­ma­tion on: 

— Prod­ucts and Ser­vices: The con­sumer finan­cial prod­ucts and ser­vices that are cur­rent­ly offered to or used by ser­vice mem­bers and their fam­i­lies, includ­ing those that are specif­i­cal­ly tai­lored to their unique finan­cial needs. 

— Edu­ca­tion: The finan­cial edu­ca­tion oppor­tu­ni­ties that are offered to ser­vice mem­bers and their fam­i­lies, both in per­son and online. 

— Pro­grams: The types of pro­grams, poli­cies, accom­mo­da­tions, and ben­e­fits that finan­cial ser­vice providers cur­rent­ly pro­vide to ser­vice mem­bers and their fam­i­lies that may exceed those required by statute. 

— Home­own­er Assis­tance: The types of unique assis­tance offered by finan­cial ser­vice providers to ser­vice mem­bers and their fam­i­lies who are dis­tressed home­own­ers, such as: mort­gage mod­i­fi­ca­tions; accom­mo­da­tions for ser­vice mem­bers with per­ma­nent change of sta­tion orders; and assis­tance for wound­ed, ill or injured ser­vice mem­bers or sur­viv­ing spous­es of deceased ser­vice members. 

— Mar­ket­ing and Com­mu­ni­ca­tion: The mar­ket­ing and com­mu­ni­ca­tion strate­gies that are cur­rent­ly used to inform ser­vice mem­bers and their fam­i­lies of con­sumer finan­cial prod­ucts and ser­vices, and those that are the most and least effective. 

Source:
U.S. Depart­ment of Defense
Office of the Assis­tant Sec­re­tary of Defense (Pub­lic Affairs)