In the latter half of the 2000s, it became commonplace for regulators and policy analysts to refer to the “Wild West” landscape of student lending, especially private student loans. A decade later, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has announced itself as the new sheriff in town to the student loan industry and the for-profit colleges that fueled it.
Launched in 2011, the agency was formed as a response to the 2007-8 financial crisis and given oversight of mortgage lending, credit cards and student loans. Its formation put the regulatory functions of a number of federal agencies under one roof and meant that, for the first time, someone was looking over the shoulders of many private companies in higher education and other industries.
The result of that scrutiny over the last two years?
Read more at Inside Higher Ed: https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2016/09/28/consumer-financial-protection-bureau-plays-outsize-role-regulator-profits-and-loan