Customer service

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Wednesday asked for public input on the way it receives and processes complaints from consumers in what the agency said was a preliminary step toward making improvements.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued a request for information Thursday on the bureau’s public reporting of consumer complaints, which has long vexed the financial services industry.

Sometimes reaching underserved borrowers takes experimenting with changes to the mortgage finance system. That's why Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are working with lenders to test innovative loan products that meet borrowers' evolving needs.

Despite digital mortgage advances, borrowers think it still takes too long to get a loan, J.D. Power finds in its annual customer satisfaction ranking of originators.

Some banks are looking at how to translate the complicated and document-heavy mortgage lending process into the digital world of voice-interactive personal assistants.

Financial firms say the database is unreliable and would like to see it removed from public view. But the industry would also lose access to competitive insights that can be gleaned from the massive trove of consumer complaints.