CFPB Introduces Its “Consumer Credit Trends” Tool

Roughly eighteen months ago, the CFPB introduced its Monthly Complaint Reports which provide monthly summaries of complaints received in the complaint portal against financial service providers regarding a number of financial service products.  Each month, the CFPB issues a report summarizing the information. 

This week, the CFPB introduced a new research tool, its Consumer Credit Trend Tool.  According to the CFPB, the new tool’s purpose is to track originations of various consumer credit products.  In its current beta form, the tool pulls information from one of the three major consumer reporting agencies in a “de-identified manner”.  The Bureau’s release indicates that “de-identified” means that no information is provided to the CFPB as to the consumers’ identities including names, social security numbers or addresses are provided to the CFPB with the data.  For now, the tool will focus on four credit products: mortgage, student loan, credit cards and auto loans.   The CFPB press release, however, indicates that the CFPB “plans to include other consumer credit products and information on credit applications, delinquency rates, and consumer debt levels” and plans to update the information regularly and provide analysis of notable findings.