CFPB's Kraninger seeks to serve consumers and communities through partnerships

During yesterday's CFPB Roundtable in Austin, Texas, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Kathy Kraninger met with members of the financial community, including Cornerstone Credit Union League Compliance and Regulatory Counsel Suzanne Yashewski.

The framework for the meeting was based on CFPB's Start Small, Save Up initiative, which focuses on ways financial institutions, community groups, fintech companies, and CFPB can work together to assist consumers in saving.

Kraninger is seeking to serve consumers and communities through partnerships and  wants to find the most effective ways to encourage savings and financial education. She mentioned that the application process to serve on CFPB advisory committees (including the credit union advisory council) had closed, and new members should be confirmed soon. 

(Pictured above: CFPB Director Kathy Kraninger met with financial institution stakeholders at Austin Roundtable May 22. Left to right: Cornerstone Credit Union League's Suzanne Yashewski, Director Kraninger, and Credit Union's Rick Ledezma.)

In addition to Kraninger and Yashewski, attendees included Credit Human's internal controls manager Rick Ledezma; Jennifer Stockett with CFPB's Office of Financial Institutions; and Keo Chea, Community Liaison with CFPB's Office of Public Engagement. Also in attendance were representatives from Texas Bankers Association, Austin Capital Bank, Association of Financial Educators, Texas Appleseed, Texas Rio Grande Legal Aid, Raise Texas, Texas Public Interest Research Group, Self Lender, Kasasa, Netspend, Catholic Charities of Central Texas, University of Texas, Austin Community College, and others.

Yashewski shared information on Cornerstone Credit Union League, the mission of credit unions to serve communities, and efforts by the Cornerstone Credit Union Foundation and credit unions to provide financial education and low-cost lending alternatives to members and communities.

The group discussed challenges that consumers have in savings, such as the reality that "the math is easy, the practice is the challenge."

The recent Texas constitutional amendment authorizing “prize linked savings” programs was cited as a good example of how to incentivize consumers to save. Unfortunately, only a handful of financial institutions are offering such programs to date, and the group agreed that further promotion should be a priority.  

Credit Human's Ledezma and Cornerstone's Yashewski discussed NCUA’s effort to expand payday loan alternatives and requested that CFPB consider providing an additional exemption from CFPB payday lending rules for any future payday lending alternative programs adopted under NCUA regulations.

Ledezma explained that Credit Human is focused on helping members make good financial decisions, which means educating members and sometimes helping them find creative solutions rather than extending additional debt that they may not have the ability to repay.

"This meeting and the various discussions we engaged in were productive," said Yashewski. "We thank Director Kraninger for spending time with us and allowing us to get to know and understand her plans for the CFPB. She seems open to ideas and perspectives from the industries, which augurs well for credit unions and other financial entities in the future."