The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), created in the devastating wake of the 2008 financial crisis, is an independent agency that enforces consumer protection laws and protects people who have been cheated by financial companies. This memorandum summarizes the many responsibilities and obligations that the CFPB is legally obligated to perform. Listed below are 87 such provisions in Title 12 of the U.S. Code – a non-exhaustive list of the CFPB’s legal responsibilities and obligations, with a short description of each. In addition to those on this list, there are additional responsibilities and obligations, including in Title 15 of the U.S. Code. See, e.g., 15 U.S.C. § 1603 note (requiring the CFPB annually to make certain inflation adjustments).

The overwhelming majority of these items are responsibilities or obligations that the law requires the CFPB to continuously satisfy, while a relatively small number are one-time mandates that the CFPB has already satisfied. Additionally, the list does not include certain rulemakings that the CFPB has interpreted as required under sections 1033 (personal financial data rights) and 1071 (small business lending) of the Consumer Financial Protection Act.