To Boost Consumer Power, CFPB Challenges Wall Street's Mandatory Arbitration

Story by Democracy Now

In financial news, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has moved to bar Wall Street banks and other financial firms from forcing people into arbitration, and instead allow people to file class-action lawsuits that could cost the banks billions of dollars.

Currently, people who are trying to dispute banks over credit card accounts or student or payday loans are forced into mandatory arbitration, a process that benefits the banks because it forces people to try to fight the institutions on their own. The change could take effect as early as next year, although it faces fierce opposition from Wall Street.