Jan. 31: CFPB Recent Updates

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) released its annual list of consumer reporting companies. The list identifies dozens of specialty reporting companies that collect and sell access to people’s data, including individuals’ finances, employment, check writing histories, or rental history records. People can use the list to, among other things, request their consumer reporting data, dispute inaccuracies, and block access to their credit reporting data through security freezes. The list also informs consumers about the types of personal financial information that is collected for credit and other consumer reports.

In the United States, personal financial data is used by a variety of entities when making lending, banking, employment, and housing decisions. Some less obvious entities that use personal financial data include casinos, phone companies, volunteer organizations, government agencies determining eligibility for assistance programs, debt collectors, and insurance companies. While three nationwide consumer reporting companies – Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion – dominate much of the credit reporting market, many specialty consumer reporting companies exist to support different industries. This means consumers’ personal financial data may be collected by and reported to a multitude of companies and individuals. That spread can also increase consumer risk, especially when consumers are unaware that it is happening.

The annual list of consumer reporting companies published by the CFPB allows people to find consumer reporting companies that provide specialized reporting for specific markets that might be relevant to them depending on their specific goals and situation. The list also provides information on how people can dispute inaccurate information and request a security freeze.

• Read List of Consumer Reporting Companies.

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While servicemembers pay nearly the same for both new and used vehicles as civilian buyers do, servicemembers on average pay more in interest and fees than civilian borrowers do, and also make those higher payments for longer. Military borrowers are also less likely to make a downpayment, more likely to make a smaller downpayment, and more likely to make a negative equity trade-in. Because servicemembers are often required to have a personal vehicle for transportation in order to fulfill their military obligations, and because they may be young men and women far away from family supports, they may be especially vulnerable to overreaching lending practices and have fewer resources to draw upon.

Key findings in the report include:

• Servicemembers borrow more while putting less down: For new vehicles, servicemembers borrowed an average of $39,000 – over $2,200 more than civilians – while putting down about $1,100 less in down payments. For used vehicles, they financed $27,500 on average, which is almost $400 more than civilians.
• Military borrowers pay higher rates over longer terms: Servicemembers faced average annual percentage rates (APRs) 0.6 percentage points above civilian rates and longer loan terms. This has resulted in servicemembers’ monthly payments averaging $644 for new vehicles, nearly $20 more than for civilian borrowers and nearly $1,300 more over the life of the average new vehicle loan.
• Add-on products, including GAP products, increase costs further: Over 70% of servicemembers purchased add-on products and paid on average about $140 more for add-on products than civilians. Warranty, service, and maintenance plans were the most common and expensive category of add-on products purchased. The second most common was GAP products. Servicemembers’ purchase of GAP products increased sharply in 2020, after the Department of Defense changed its interpretation of the Military Lending Act .

Read today’s report, Auto Lending to Servicemembers.

Published JAN 28, 2025

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) released two reports looking at national rental payment data from September 2021 to November 2024. The percentage of renters who paid late fees in the last year reached 23% in February 2023. While the rate declined to slightly less than 14% in November 2024, the CFPB’s analysis found that the median outstanding rental balance rose 60% between September 2021 and November 2024, suggesting increased financial distress among affected households. Renters who do pay late fees often pay multiple late fees in a year, and the average late fee is $85, up significantly from September 2021. Only about half of renters behind on their rent catch up in one month.

For the 35% of American households that live in rental housing, rent is one of their largest expenses. Falling behind on rent payments often indicates financial stress and puts families at risk of eviction. While the data show that fewer renters are incurring late fees and that about 50% of renters who do incur a fee are able to bounce back to on-time payments, the data also reveal continued financial struggles for many renters.

The CFPB found a significant portion of renters who incur an initial late fee struggle to recover. Just under 60% of those who incur any late fees experience two or more. More than 20% of renters with at least one late fee have five or more late fees in the last twelve months. Late fees have also risen, along with the median outstanding rental balance, have increased since 2021. Late fees have risen steadily since September 2021 to $85 in November 2024. The reported outstanding rental balance has increased sharply from $2,000 in September 2021 to $3,200 in November 2024.

The CFPB’s reports also examine the incidence of non-sufficient funds fees and write-offs of unpaid amounts.

• Read the data spotlight.
• Read the report.