In a March 14 post  on the CFPB’s blog, Skip Humphrey, who heads the CFPB’s Office of Older Americans, reported on his meeting with Illinois bank regulators and other Illinois officials to discuss the state’s efforts to combat financial elder abuse. Mr. Humphrey noted that Illinois recently enacted a law that requires employees of state banks and other state financial institutions to receive training on how to recognize signs of such abuse.

In his post, Mr. Humphrey also mentioned the following current CFPB initiatives to protect the elderly:  providing guidance to caregivers who handle financial matters for seniors, assisting seniors in the choice of financial advisors, and studying reverse mortgage shopping patterns.

We applaud the CFPB’s efforts to protect seniors from financial abuse. In addition to those in Illinois who Mr. Humphrey called “partners as we work toward our common goal of protecting older consumers,” we think the CFPB will find many other partners throughout the consumer financial services industry who share that goal.