U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Director Rohit Chopra had some good and not-so-good news for consumers, as well as the tech and banking industries, that he was "pleased" to deliver to congressional representatives last month.

Chopra delivered his good news on June 14 in an opening statement for CFPB’s semiannual report to members of the House Committee on Financial Services, including Patrick McHenry (R-NC) and Ranking committee member Maxine Waters (D-CA). 

"I am pleased to report that the CFPB continues to deliver tangible results for the public today, ensuring that consumers are protected, while also preparing for the future as tech giants and artificial intelligence reshape the industry," Chopra said in his opening statement. "I will share a few observations about the state of the American consumer, as well as some highlights of CFPB's work."

Those observations included U.S. families continuing "to benefit from a resilient labor market" while "consumer spending continues to be robust" but that some indicators are disturbing, Chopra said. Among other things, accelerated borrowing is helping to drive inflation.

"Inflation in key categories, such as vehicles, has contributed to rising levels of household debt," Chopra said. "Americans now owe $17 trillion in household debt, including mortgages, student loans, auto loans and credit cards. Interest rates are substantially higher than they were a few years ago, and some families are paying much more on their credit cards and other loans. Overall, current indicators of distress on consumer credit remain muted, though there are modest signs of increased delinquency."

Student loan repayment resumption, expected to begin later this summer, isn't helping, Chopra said.

"We will continue monitoring the impact of changes in interest rates and home prices closely, as well as other changes that might impact large segments of the population, such as upcoming resumption of federal student loan payments," he said.

CFPB remains "on high alert for shocks to the system that might unsettle household financial stability," Chopra said, citing bank failures earlier this year that "highlighted significant vulnerabilities in the banking system." Chopro referred to "a series of extraordinary actions" taken by federal regulators in the face of those failures "that limited the fallout to the broader economy."

"But it is clear policymakers will need to take steps to avoid the need for emergency measures in the future," Chopra said.

Chopra also had a "major progress to propose, finalize or implement" in reference to CFPB's mandated objectives over credit reporting required rules for survivors of human trafficking, small business lending data collection, property assessed clean energy lending and last month's transition away from the London Inter-Bank Offered Rate.

"We're reviewing old rules to find opportunities to simplify and future-proof them," Chopra said. "We've built on the work of my predecessor [Richard Cordray] to publish more guidance and advisory opinions that especially help small and nascent firms looking to develop new products and services. We are focusing more heavily on supervision of nonbank financial firms, which have not always been subjected to similar oversight as chartered banks and credit unions. We've activated unused authorities to limit regulatory arbitrage by nonbank firms."

CFPB has shifted its focus from the bureau's enforcement program in favor of "targeting small businesses and putting more attention on repeat offenders," Chopra said.

"Since then, we've recovered $4.6 billion in refunds and penalties against violators," he said. "We are handling an average of 10,000 consumer complaints each week and obtaining successful resolutions for individuals outside of formal legal proceedings."

Of equal importance for CFPB is addressing how technology is being used to transform financial services. 

"The United States has a choice: will we harness technology to maintain relationship banking, drive competition, and protect privacy?" Chopra said. "Or will we continue our lurch toward a system marked by surveillance that is fully automated and controlled by a handful of firms? The CFPB is working to ensure broad benefits for consumers and businesses alike when it comes to technological advances."