Consumer Protection and Personal Finance

The preceding chapters were, in essence, devoted to major financial institutions including commercial and investment banks, brokerage and investment advisory firms, and corporate entities. In this chapter the focus will be on individuals as consumers. The preceding chapter also concerned consumers in their relations with real estate transactions. Prior to the early 1960s, there were few regulations and laws devoted to the protection of consumers. Consumer rights were protected to a limited degree, mainly by state common law remedies that enabled consumers to sue if they were the victims of fraudulent transactions. Following the beginning of the consumer rights movement in the 1960s, especially with Ralph Nader spearheading followers into clamoring for legislative enactments to protect consumers, a number of federal statutes were enacted that expanded the rights of consumers significantly. We will briefly examine the earlier statutes and discuss the latest Congressional efforts, mainly the Dodd–Frank Act and its consumer protection provisions. Thereafter we will examine the current domestic and global efforts to expand financial literacy among consumers.