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CFPB Examines Consumer Complaint Data Among Races

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) [1] has released its first report analyzing complaint submission patterns by U.S. Census tract, “Consumer Complaints Throughout the Credit Life Cycle, by Demographic Characteristics [2].” The report finds that the complaints from wealthier communities and communities with higher percentages of white, non-Hispanic residents were more frequently about loan origination and performing servicing, while the complaints from communities of color and lower income communities were more frequently about credit reporting, identity theft, and delinquent servicing.

The findings of the report [2] were based on the nearly one million consumer complaints submitted to the CFPB between 2018 and 2020, matching relevant consumers to census tract-level U.S. Census demographic data.

“Today’s report confirms that the experiences and concerns of communities, with consumer financial products and services, vary by race and wealth,” said CFPB Acting Director Dave Uejio [3]. “Our consumer complaint data is a crucial tool for understanding varying consumer experiences, including across racial and economic divides.”

The report found that consumers from lower income and predominantly Black and Hispanic communities submitted credit reporting and delinquent servicing complaints at a higher rate per resident than consumers from higher-income and predominantly white, non-Hispanic communities, who were more likely to submit complaints related to loan origination and performing servicing. Asian-American and Pacific-Islander communities had higher rates of submitting credit reporting complaints than predominantly white, non-Hispanic communities; however, they also had a lower share of delinquent servicing complaints.

Key findings of the report include: