Consumer Financial Protection Accountability and Reform Act of 2026

(30) Substantial injury. The term substantial injury—

(A) means a concrete and quantifiable harm to a consumer or a class of consumers, including—

(i) monetary harm;

(ii) a material risk of monetary harm that the Bureau determines is likely to occur; or

(iii) a significant adverse effect on a consumer’s ability to access or use a consumer financial product or service;

(B) does not include—

(i) trivial, hypothetical, or merely speculative harms;

(ii) emotional impact, reputational harm, or subjective distress absent a showing of material financial or functional impairment; or

(iii) harms that are outweighed by countervailing benefits to consumers or competition;

(C) shall be determined based on objective evidence, which may include—

(i) the aggregate impact on similarly situated consumers;

(ii) the likelihood and magnitude of harm; and

(iii) whether the injury results from a practice that is systemic or isolated;

(D) requires that a material risk of harm be reasonably foreseeable at the time of the act or practice that causes or is likely to cause the injury; and

(E) may not be established solely by a technical violation of law, contractual term, or regulatory requirement absent a showing of concrete and quantifiable harm to a consumer or a class of consumers.