Consumer Protections and Community Development

Fed Functions: Consumer Protections and Community Development HELENA. Hi, Im Helena. SEBASTIAN. And Im Sebastian. We work for the Federal Reserve, the central bank of the United States. HELENA. One of the five key functions of the Federal Reserve is to promote consumer protection and community development. We all benefit more from a thriving, well-functioning economy when we have access to affordable and accessible products and services--particularly financial services and products like bank accounts, credit cards, and mortgages--that help us all save, invest, buy a home, borrow money, and more basically, provide financial security for our families and futures. SEBASTIAN. With that goal in mind, the Fed promotes consumer protection and community development in several ways. First and foremost, it helps ensure that bank lenders, and other financial institutions follow the federal laws and regulations that ensure that quality products and services are fairly offered and accessible to consumers and communities. The Fed shares this responsibility with various federal agencies, supervising financial institutions and enforcing these important consumer and community protections. HELENA. Federal government rules and statutes cover all types of consumer bank and lending accounts and transactions, and also ensure vital consumer and community practices are observed--like requiring banks to follow fair lending, fair housing, and community reinvestment laws. SEBASTIAN. The Fed enforces compliance with the laws and regulations for which its responsible by conducting examinations of certain banks and financial institutions to assess their Federal Reserve Board September 28, 2018 operations and activities. If necessary, the Fed directs corrective action and issues penalties for violations. It also coordinates with other agencies to promote consistency in examination standards, guidance, and processes to help ensure that consumer protections and supervision practices are standardized and observed broadly in the financial services industry. HELENA. In addition, the Fed investigates complaints and fields inquiries from you, the consumer about your experiences with financial institutions and any potential regulatory or legal violations. The Federal Reserve Board and Federal Reserve Banks also interact directly with communities and community stakeholders through a wide-ranging, nationwide community development outreach program, with the ultimate purpose of understanding economic opportunities and challenges that either promote or hinder communities participation in the nations economic growth. The Fed conducts research about communities and consumers, including the financially vulnerable, to understand their financial experiences and decision making, and the major challenges they face, like getting access to financial services. SEBASTIAN. Dedicated research in these areas helps identify trends that may impact financial well-being and helps inform whether those trends suggest the need to adjust consumer protection efforts or policies that ensure low- and moderate-income communities perspectives, challenges, and opportunities are well-represented. The Fed understands that healthy communities and well served consumers help support and drive economic growth. HELENA. Thats why the Federal Reserve is committed to ensuring that consumer and community perspectives inform its policies, research, and actions. For more information on this and other functions of the Federal Reserve, visit www.federalreserve.gov and click on About the Fed.