FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Jeff Hauser, [email protected]
Today, the Revolving Door Project published a new white paper, “Who’s Afraid of Rohit Chopra?,” which questions whether the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s attacks on Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Director Rohit Chopra are related to the close ties between top Chamber executives and lawbreaking corporations within the CFPB’s jurisdiction. The report finds that four of the Chamber’s Board Members and three of its executives – including Chamber CEO Suzanne Clark – have advised or worked for corporations that Chopra has singled out for predatory behavior, such as TransUnion. The report also considers Chopra’s assessment of the financial system, finding that recent regulators have indeed largely failed to rein in repeat-offenses by leading firms. It concludes by examining Chopra’s enforcement record after one year on the job, which – contrary to the Chamber’s assessment – has been strongly pro-consumer.
Read the full white paper here.
Report author and Revolving Door Project Researcher Vishal Shankar said, “America’s biggest corporate lobbying group is furious that its lawbreaking members are no longer getting a free pass for predatory and illegal behavior. Director Chopra has made clear to repeat-offenders like TransUnion and U.S. Bank: your days of ripping off the American people are over. The Chamber is spending six figures to lie to consumers about Chopra’s record, without being upfront about their own executives’ ties to corporate criminals. They think the American people love surprise fees and hate seeing white-collar crooks held accountable. They are dead wrong on both counts.”
“The Chamber of Commerce expects financial sector regulators to be people on sabbatical from jobs shadow lobbying for rogue financial services companies like Wells Fargo and TransUnion,” said Revolving Door Project founder and Executive Director Jeff Hauser. “Chopra’s fast start at the CFPB underscores why America’s least well behaved corporations are desperate for captured regulators who will let them bilk consumers and avoid legal accountability.”
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