Applauds Consumer Agency’S Enforcement Action Against American Express

Somerville, MA – Consumer advocate Elizabeth Warren today applauded the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) for its enforcement action announced today against American Express. Today’s enforcement action, the agency’s third, requires several American Express companies to refund consumers an estimated $85 million and pay a fine of $27.5 million for illegal credit card practices.
 
“The consumer agency is hard at work holding credit card companies accountable for deceptive and illegal practices, and today’s enforcement action shows it is getting results for working families across Massachusetts,” said Warren. “I’m proud that the CFPB is standing up to protect people from financial tricks and traps and help create a level playing field.”
 
Last week, the CFPB and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) announced a joint enforcement action requiring Discover Financial Services to refund consumers $200 million and pay a $14 million penalty for deceptive marketing practices. In July,  the consumer agency announced its first enforcement action, which ordered Capital One to refund consumers $140 million and pay a $25 million penalty.
 
Warren is widely credited with the idea for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and she served as Assistant to the President and Special Advisor to the Secretary of the Treasury in 2010 and 2011, with the authority to set up the consumer agency. Warren also served as Chair of the bipartisan Congressional Oversight Panel. For her clear and fearless oversight efforts on behalf of the American people, Time Magazine named her one of the “New Sheriffs of Wall Street,” and the Boston Globe named her Bostonian of the Year in 2009.