Insights

On July 6, 2011, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Judge Advocate Generals of the United States Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, and Coast Guard announced an agreement on a Joint Statement of Principles to provide stronger protections for servicemembers and their families in connection with consumer financial products and services.

The Judge Advocate Generals and CFPB officials discussed the following goals set forth in the Joint Statement:

• Protecting servicemembers and their families from unlawful acts or practices by providers of consumer financial products or services, including through enforcement actions where necessary;
• Creating mechanisms that enable the Offices of the Judge Advocate Generals to provide input on the CFPB’s efforts to improve the marketplace for servicemembers, their families, and law-abiding businesses;
• Finding ways to work together as efficiently and effectively as possible to address concerns raised by servicemembers and their families about consumer financial products or services; and
• Working with other offices in the Department of Defense to support improved financial literacy training for servicemembers and their families.

In addition, the Offices of the Judge Advocate Generals and the CFPB – including its Office of Servicemember Affairs and Enforcement Division – will create a working group with the goal of achieving a coordinated response to unlawful conduct targeted at servicemembers and their families.