CFPB Data Collection Methods Under Fire

When Robert Cordray, Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ("CFPB"), testified before the Senate Banking Committee in April, 2013, he attempted to reassure senators that the CFPB had no interest in tracking individuals' financial transactions, even though the bureau has access to financial information of millions of Americans.

Senator Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, the Committee's ranking Republican, who opposed the creation of the CFPB, was not convinced. He raised questions about the CFPB's ability to collect information, what it intends to do with it, and whether individual Americans could be identified through the aggregate data.

Director Cordray defended the actions of the CFPB by stating that the bureau collects data in three areas – credit cards, consumer credit reports and mortgages. He stated that the bureau purchases "anonymized" data on credit cards, just like private companies and other government regulators do. The bureau also purchases