Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Initiatives

On October 14, 2026, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced a new initiative aimed at addressing the practice of 'debanking' by large financial institutions, which involves denying banking services to businesses and individuals. This action is framed as a step to advance President Trump's efforts against such practices when based on constitutionally protected rights [CFPB Newsroom].

Earlier in the month, on October 2, 2026, the CFPB also affirmed its support for the new National Strategy for Financial Literacy. This strategy seeks to guide actions toward enhancing youth financial competency, promoting sound saving and investing habits, improving digital financial literacy, and educating consumers on fraud and scam avoidance [CFPB Newsroom]. The Bureau's Deputy Director, Mark Paoletta, delivered remarks to the Financial Literacy and Education Commission on July 27, 2026, underscoring the CFPB's commitment to these educational goals [CFPB Newsroom].

Other recent CFPB activity includes working to ensure consumers affected by Bilt's transition to a new bank partner were appropriately remedied, following meetings with Bilt to understand and address issues caused by the transition (June 2, 2026) [CFPB Newsroom]. The Bureau also released the 2025 HMDA data on mortgage lending on March 31, 2026, accessible on the FFIEC's HMDA Platform [CFPB Newsroom].

Federal Trade Commission Consumer Warnings

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has issued multiple consumer alerts recently, with a notable focus on digital security and scam prevention. On October 13, 2026, the FTC advised consumers on how to avoid deceptive sextortion assistance services and find legitimate help, emphasizing the stress and complexity of such situations [FTC Consumer Alerts]. This follows earlier alerts in October regarding what steps to take if explicit images of a child are shared online, including AI-generated deepfakes [FTC Consumer Alerts].

September saw several alerts concerning online safety and scam vigilance. On September 28, 2026, the FTC cautioned consumers to be aware of health insurance scams, particularly during Open Enrollment periods for Medicare and the Marketplace [FTC Consumer Alerts]. Additionally, the FTC highlighted scams impersonating farm equipment businesses (September 15, 2026) and car dealership websites (September 1, 2026), where scammers sell non-existent equipment or spoof legitimate sites [FTC Consumer Alerts]. The Commission also warned against scanning unknown QR codes (September 3, 2026), as scammers utilize them to defraud individuals [FTC Consumer Alerts].

For victims of non-consensual intimate image sharing, the FTC provided guidance on reporting platforms that fail to remove such content promptly (September 23, 2026), reinforcing legal requirements for platforms to offer easy submission methods for removal requests [FTC Consumer Alerts].

Federal Reserve Activity

The Federal Reserve's press releases section indicates no new general press releases since March 2017. Recent activity is categorized by FOMC meetings or general annual summaries, with no specific consumer-facing announcements noted for the current period [Federal Reserve Press Releases].