Glossary
Each term has one meaning on this site. The first text is a plain explanation. The quotation is the text of the agency, with a link to the page.
- Complaint
One row of the CFPB file: the complaint of one consumer about one company. This site counts rows. A complaint is an allegation of the consumer. The CFPB complaint process does not verify the allegations.
The agency’s words:
Only complaints sent to companies for response are eligible to be published and are only published after the company responds, confirming a commercial relationship or after 15 days, whichever comes first.
CFPB, Consumer Complaint Database, About the database- Company
The company that the complaint names. This site prints the name as the CFPB writes it. The CFPB can file a complaint under a parent company, and it can file two names for one company.
The agency’s words:
The complaint is about this company. For example, “ABC Bank.”
CFPB, How we share complaint data, field Company- Product
The main category of a complaint. The consumer selects it on the CFPB form. The site prints each product label as the CFPB writes it, in quotation marks.
The agency’s words:
The type of product the consumer identified in the complaint. For example, “Checking or savings account” or “Student loan.”
CFPB, How we share complaint data, field Product- Sub-product
A narrower category inside a product. Not every product has sub-products.
The agency’s words:
The type of sub-product the consumer identified in the complaint. For example, “Checking account” or “Private student loan.”
CFPB, How we share complaint data, field Sub-product- Issue
The problem that the consumer selects on the CFPB form. An issue label shows the selection of the consumer. It does not show what a company did.
The agency’s words:
The issue the consumer identified in the complaint. For example, “Managing an account” or “Struggling to repay your loan.”
CFPB, How we share complaint data, field Issue- Sub-issue
A narrower category inside an issue. Not every issue has sub-issues.
The agency’s words:
The sub-issue the consumer identified in the complaint. For example, “Deposits and withdrawals” or “Problem lowering your monthly payments.”
CFPB, How we share complaint data, field Sub-issue- Consumer narrative
The text that a consumer writes about a complaint. This site shows no narrative. It does not read, keep or publish the text of any complaint.
The agency’s words:
Today, the CFPB is ceasing publication of unverified complaint narratives and visualizations.
CFPB, news release of 14 August 2026- Company response to consumer
The category that the company selects when it responds to a complaint. This site prints the categories as the CFPB writes them. The CFPB gives no longer definition for each category.
Closed with explanation
Closed with non-monetary relief
Closed with monetary relief
In progress
Untimely response
Closed
Closed with relief
Closed without relief
The agency’s words:
This is how the company responded. For example, “Closed with explanation.”
CFPB, How we share complaint data, field Company response to consumer- Timely response
The field “Timely response?” of the CFPB file. Its value is “Yes” or “No”. The site gives the share of responses with the value “Yes”.
The agency’s words:
Whether the company gave a timely response. For example, “Yes” or “No.”
CFPB, How we share complaint data, field Timely response?- Company public response
An optional statement that a company can select from a list of the CFPB. Many companies select none. The statement is the choice of the company.
The agency’s words:
The company’s optional, public-facing response to a consumer’s complaint. Companies can choose to select a response from a pre-set list of options that will be posted on the public database. For example, “Company believes complaint is the result of an isolated error.”
CFPB, How we share complaint data, field Company public response- State
The state of the consumer. This site does not use the state of the company.
The agency’s words:
The state of the mailing address provided by the consumer.
CFPB, How we share complaint data, field StateMarks that the CFPB adds to some complaints. This site gives the share of complaints with the tag “Servicemember” and with the tag “Older American”.
The agency’s words:
Data that supports easier searching and sorting of complaints submitted by or on behalf of consumers.
CFPB, How we share complaint data, field Tags- Closed month
A month is closed 15 days after its last day. The count of an open month can still increase, because the CFPB publishes a complaint when the company responds or after 15 days.
The agency’s words:
We publish complaints after the company responds or after 15 days, whichever comes first.
CFPB, How we share complaint data- Public size measure
A figure from a public file of a government agency that shows the size of a company. This site uses bank assets, credit union assets and the count of HMDA records. Most companies in the CFPB file have none, because the site could not match them by name to one institution.
The agency has no entry for this term on the pages that the site read. The explanation is the site’s own.
- Assets of a bank (FDIC)
The total assets that a bank reports to the FDIC. For a holding company, this site adds the assets of its FDIC-insured banks. Assets measure the whole institution, not one product.
The agency’s words:
The sum of all assets owned by the institution including cash, loans, securities, bank premises and other assets. This total does not include off-balance-sheet accounts.
FDIC, BankFind API, institution properties, field ASSET (Total assets)- Assets of a credit union (NCUA)
The total assets that a credit union reports to the NCUA in its quarterly call report. Assets measure the whole credit union, not one product.
The agency has no entry for this term on the pages that the site read. The explanation is the site’s own.
- HMDA record
One mortgage application or loan that a lender reports under the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act for one year. The count measures new lending. It does not measure the loans that a servicer handles for others.
The agency has no entry for this term on the pages that the site read. The explanation is the site’s own.
- Peer company
A company on this site with the same main product category as another company and 20 or more complaints in the last 12 months. A peer median uses only peers with the same kind of size measure, and only when there are 5 or more.
The agency has no entry for this term on the pages that the site read. The explanation is the site’s own.
- Complaint floor of a table
The fewest complaints that a company needs to be a row of a table. The caption of the table states it. A company under the floor is in the last row, with the other companies.
The agency has no entry for this term on the pages that the site read. The explanation is the site’s own.
The site copied the agency texts on . A quotation keeps the spelling of the agency.
Last checked against the CFPB pages: .