The CFPB has released an “issue brief” entitled “Financial Education Programs Serving Immigrant Populations.”  The report is intended “to raise visibility about the financial education challenges that many immigrants face.”

The report shares the results of a “field scan” in which the CFPB identified financial education programs and providers and spoke with experts in the field.  In an appendix to the report, the CFPB lists financial education programs or resources that serve immigrant populations and provides a description of each program or resource.

In the report, the CFPB discusses the money management challenges faced by immigrant consumers, the challenges faced by financial educators in helping immigrant communities improve their financial capability, and different approaches to helping immigrants build financial well-being.

The report includes a section devoted to actions taken by the CFPB to assist limited English proficiency (LEP) consumers, such as assisting consumers with complaints in multiple languages and making consumer education resources available in multiple languages.  The CFPB has previously indicated that LEP consumers are a priority and suggested that financial institutions should be able to take steps similar to those taken by the CFPB to support LEP customers.  However, as we have observed, the CFPB’s expectations for serving LEP customers present numerous challenges for financial institutions, including UDAAP and fair lending risks, and the CFPB has not yet provided financial institutions with guidance about how to serve LEP consumers without taking such risks.  In November 2015, we conducted a webinar on the issues that institutions should consider when taking steps to serve LEP consumers.