Colorado is nationally recognized for its financial empowerment work. In the past few years alone, we have capped allowable costs on payday loans, required out-of-state lenders to follow our laws, and developed new, low-cost lending options. The ongoing need for these and other laws underscores the value of Colorado’s Office of Financial Empowerment (OFE). Though one of the state’s newest and often overshadowed achievements, its work is critical to supporting long-term financial health throughout our state.
Created by SB21-148 and housed within the Colorado Attorney General’s Office, the OFE exists to provide proactive coordination and support to the many financial empowerment efforts happening across the state. More specifically, the OFE is responsible for:
This work remains more important than ever as loan default rates rise, credit card debt grows, and the percentage of unbanked or underbanked (meaning an individual does not have either a bank account or they do have a bank account but also use alternative financial services like payday loans) is near 20 percent. Through the OFE’s work to provide better financial tools and resources, these and other financial challenges impacting Coloradans can be addressed before they even begin.
The OFE has only been in existence for a few short years, and is still growing into its own. But in that time, the OFE has made important progress by:
The OFE is making valuable progress in building the statewide infrastructure necessary to ensure the financial well-being of Colorado families and communities. As the OFE’s work continues into the coming years, and its many efforts converge and grow, we know that this important office will have a lasting impact on our state.
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