Democrats: CFPB has saved $12 billion for consumers, mostly through controversial power

The bulk of the nearly $12 billion that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has returned to financial customers is attributable to one of the agency’s powers that Republicans most want to rein in, according to a new report from House Democrats Monday.

Since opening in 2011, the bureau has won $10.8 billion in consumer relief through enforcements undertaken under its broad authority to police “abusive” conduct in the financial industry, according to the report released by the Democratic staff of the House Financial Services Committee. The bureau verified the statistic.