The bill introduced by Rep. Patrick McHenry, the top Republican on the Financial Services Committee, would expand CFPB authority to the credit reporting industry and require that certain adverse information be removed from a consumer’s credit history.
The Biden administration could substantially reduce the number of "credit invisible" and "thin file" consumers without legislation, simply through a determined use of federal contract regarding multi-family mortgages and wireless spectrum licenses.
The credit reporting firm has been building out its identity and fraud protection business for existing customers, which include many of the world’s largest banks and telecommunications companies.
The Democratic nominee has not gone as far as some progressives in support of financial inclusion, but ideas such as postal banking, a government-run credit reporting system and universal bank accounts would likely gain traction under a Biden administration.
Harvest, a fintech founded by Nami Baral, has developed an alternative scoring method that amasses data on spending patterns, debt payments and even earnings potential to get a better sense of consumers' creditworthiness.
Banking and credit reporting groups say such an agency could politicize the reporting process. Consumer groups say it would offer consumers a necessary alternative.
The Democrats’ presumptive presidential nominee called for a public credit reporting agency and for the Postal Service to offer financial services, among other proposals issued through a unity task force with Bernie Sanders. But analysts suggest the recommendations are more about electoral politics than pushing for real reforms.
