In a telephone survey conductedrnamong 1,004 likely voters by Lake Research Partners for CRL and Americans forrnFinancial Reform, regulating financial services and products is seen as eitherrn”important” or “very important” by over 90 percent of voters.  CRL says that attitude for the most part “transcendsrndifferences of age, race, geography, and political party.”  Ninety-six percent of Democrats regardrnfinancial regulation as important as do 95 percent of Independents and 89rnpercent of Republicans. </p

Similarly large percentages, eighty-threernpercent of voters overall and 75 percent of Republicans, favor tougherrnregulation of “Wall Street financial companies,” when that conclusion isrnjuxtaposed against an alternative statement that “their practices have changedrnenough that they don’t need further regulation.” When voters are simply askedrnto choose between more and less regulation of financial companies, 71 percentrnside with more, and 20 percent with less. Here, too, the sentiment crossesrnparty lines, with Democrats favoring more regulation by a margin of 85 to 9rnpercent, Independents by 76 to 16 percent, and Republicans by 51 to 37 percent.rn</p

Close to 67 percent of Republicans,rnalong with 89 percent of Democrats and 76 percent of Independents, hold arnfavorable view of the stepped-up oversight of mortgage brokers, payday lenders,rndebt collectors, and other previously unregulated industry players authorizedrnby Dodd-Frank.  </p

In the five years since thernfinancial meltdown the anger at Wall Street has moderated and a bare majority,rn51 percent, expressed an unfavorable opinion of those institutions butrnsentiment favoring measures to restrain their excesses seems to berngrowing.  Seventy-one percent ofrnrespondents expressed support for tougher regulation compared to 59 percent inrna similar survey in 2012.  . </p

CRL said voters readily accept thernword “regulation.” When an alternative survey question substituted a softerrnterm, 59 percent were in favor of stronger “oversight” and 39 percent opposed itrncompared to a 71/21 split over the term regulation.    </p

Of those with an opinion, 64 percentrnsupported the need for an agency charged with protecting consumers againstrndangerous financial products while only 26 percent agreed with arncounter-argument depicting the CFPB as an example of expensive, unneededrnfederal bureaucracy. On the other hand, 40 percent of voters say they have nornopinion or have not heard of the agency – an unsurprising result CRL says sincernthe CFPB has been in business for only two years.</p

Thirty-seven percent of thosernsurveyed reported being deceived or overcharged by a financial company.  These responses were more common among votersrnin their 40s, African-Americans, and middle-income participants but seemed tornhave little bearing on policy preferences. rnSupport for financial regulation is high among those with and without arnbad personal experience.</p

There was widespread concern amongrnrespondents about abuses involving specific financial products and servicesrnsuch a credit cards, student loans, debt collection, and credit reporting, and  strong support for additional rules andrnregulations.  Respondents expressedrnparticular concern about payday lenders and credit cards.</p

After hearing arguments for andrnagainst Wall Street Reform, 63 percent of respondents agreed with the statementrnthat Wall Street must be held accountable and prevented from repeating pastrnactions while only 24 percent agreed that the reform law is a “job killer” andrnlikely to do more harm than good.  </p

Support for financial regulation,rnhowever, coexists with a widely held view of debt problems as a reflection ofrnpersonal irresponsibility. When asked to choose, 30 percent of voters point tornpersonal irresponsibility, while 44 percent prefer an alternative statementrnthat “lenders need rules” and should have to provide clear information “sornpeople can make wise choices.”  Twenty-twornpercent said they support both propositions equally. </p

While voters have mixed views ofrncredit reporting companies, they object strongly to specific abuses. Forrnexample, 91 percent express concern about evidence that one in four reportsrninclude errors serious enough to cause people to pay extra for credit orrninsurance, or even to lose out on a job opportunity.

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