Introduction to the 2011 Annual Survey of Consumer Financial Services Law

In 2010 the financial landscape continued to be dominated by economic and credit-related problems that began roughly in 2007 and gained widespread attention beginning in 2008. These problems were characterized by a continuing contraction in private credit that both implicates and affects the consumer financial services laws that are the subjects of the Annual Survey. That pace seems to be quickening in advance of the "designated transfer date" for turnover of many FRB consumer credit regulatory functions to the new Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection. As noted in last year's Introduction, the relationships between state and federal laws and regulations are at the forefront of the public policy debates over consumer law. In addressing these issues, the Dodd-Frank Act has significantly changed the legal landscape for many parties and transactions, and at the same time provides the potential for other consequences that are not predictable at this time.