“An unwarranted intrusion on personal privacy.” That’s how Republican critics are describing a sweeping data collection initiative launched jointly by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and the Federal Housing Finance Agency. The regulators say their plan to create a national data base of mortgage information will help them track and understand housing market trends. But critics question the need for “intimate personal information” (on religion in particular) and say the plan doesn’t include nearly enough privacy protection for consumers.
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