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April 5, 2026

Congressman Jonathan Jackson Defends SoLo Funds in Letter to CFPB Director Chopra

At a Glance , What You Need to Know

On September 5, 2024, U.S. Congressman Jonathan L. Jackson , Democrat representing Illinois’ 1st Congressional District, member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, and son of civil rights leader Rev. Jesse Jackson , wrote a formal letter to CFPB Director Rohit Chopra urging the Bureau to pursue fair, meaningful regulation for SoLo Funds rather than enforcement that would cut off financial access for underserved Americans. The Congressman personally reviewed SoLo’s platform before writing the letter. He called the CFPB’s approach regulatory persecution of an innovative model that millions of Americans depend on. Five months after his letter was delivered, the CFPB permanently dismissed its case against SoLo Funds with prejudice.

When a sitting U.S. Congressman puts his name on a letter to a federal agency director in defense of your company, that is not a press release moment.

It is a statement about what is at stake.

On September 5, 2024 , while SoLo Funds was in active litigation with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau , Congressman Jonathan L. Jackson of Illinois’ 1st Congressional District wrote directly to CFPB Director Rohit Chopra. Not a tweet. Not a statement through a spokesperson. A formal, signed letter from a Member of Congress to the head of a federal regulatory agency, on official congressional letterhead, delivered to 1700 G Street NW.

The Congressman didn’t write because he was asked to say something nice. He wrote because he had done his homework , reviewed the platform, met with our team, studied the model , and reached a conclusion that the CFPB’s pursuit of SoLo was the wrong call for the communities that need us most.

This is that story.

Who Is Congressman Jonathan Jackson?

Congressman Jonathan L. Jackson is not a peripheral figure in American public life.

He is the son of the Reverend Jesse Jackson , one of the most consequential civil rights leaders in American history , and has spent decades as a businessman, educator, and human rights advocate in his own right. He represents Illinois’ 1st Congressional District, encompassing Chicago’s South Side and south suburbs , one of the most economically diverse and historically underserved congressional districts in the country.

He sits on the House Committee on Foreign Affairs and the House Committee on Agriculture. He was reelected in November 2024, the same month his letter to Director Chopra became public.

When Congressman Jackson advocates for financial access for underserved communities, he does so not from an abstract policy position , but as an elected representative whose constituents face the exact financial circumstances SoLo was built to address: limited savings, limited credit access, and a financial system that has historically worked against them.

His decision to go on record in defense of SoLo Funds , publicly, formally, and in writing to the CFPB Director himself , was a deliberate act of advocacy. It deserves to be understood in full.

What the Letter Said , and Why Every Word of It Matters

Congressman Jackson’s letter to Director Chopra makes five distinct arguments that go to the heart of why SoLo exists and why the CFPB’s approach was misguided. Here is what he wrote, and what it means.

1. The financial access gap is real , and SoLo is one of the few tools that addresses it.

The Congressman opened by grounding the letter in the lived reality of his constituents and millions of Americans like them: “Fewer than half of American consumers have enough in savings to pay for a $1,000 emergency, and most of these Americans are in historically marginalized communities.”

This is not a rhetorical device. It is the reason SoLo Funds was founded. Our own 2025 Cash Poor Report confirmed that over 200 million Americans live paycheck to paycheck and paid over $39 billion in excess fees on financial products in a single year. When regulators move to shut down a platform that serves those people at lower cost, the people who suffer are not hedge funds or large depositors. They are the Americans the CFPB was created to protect.

2. SoLo is not the lender , and that distinction is foundational.

Congressman Jackson put it plainly: “Unlike a legacy financial institution, SoLo does not fund loans, and is not the ‘Lender’ under the terms of any Loan Agreement and Promissory Note. Instead, the loans available on the SoLo marketplace are funded by other consumers, who are the Lenders. None of the loans funded on the SoLo marketplace have been funded in the name of a financial institution.”

This is the structural fact that regulators applying old frameworks to a new model consistently missed or ignored. SoLo is a marketplace. The people lending money to other people are the lenders. The tips go to those people , not to SoLo, not to a financial institution, not to a corporation extracting value from vulnerable borrowers. They go to neighbors helping neighbors. That is not a loophole. That is the design.

3. SoLo’s minority ownership matters in this context.

The Congressman specifically noted that SoLo is “minority-founded, owned and operated” and called out that what distinguishes SoLo from its peers operating similar models is not its practices , it is who runs it.

This is a point that is uncomfortable to make explicitly but important not to ignore. The fintech industry has many platforms with tip-based, fee-optional, or community-driven models. The regulatory focus on SoLo , the only Black-led Certified B Corp in the lending fintech space , while similar products from larger, better-resourced, and predominantly white-led companies faced comparatively less scrutiny, is a pattern worth naming. Congressman Jackson named it.

4. SoLo cooperated proactively , and was still sued.

Congressman Jackson wrote: “I understand from my discussion with the company that it has voluntarily engaged with the Bureau over the past two years and provided a full accounting of its model, process of customer engagement and activities in various states.”

This is precisely what happened. SoLo spent 18 months working with the CFPB in good faith before the Bureau filed suit , without warning, despite ongoing discussions, and in the view of our team, despite what SoLo believed was a path to resolution. Congressman Jackson saw this pattern and called it out directly to the agency responsible for it.

5. The ask was not exemption , it was fairness.

Congressman Jackson’s letter did not ask the CFPB to drop its case or abandon consumer protection. It asked for something more fundamental: “I hope you will work with the SoLo Funds team to find fair, meaningful regulation that allows for them to operate in a robust way across the country so that innovation across this field can continue.”

Fair. Meaningful. Those are not words that describe suing a company into laying off 30% of its workforce over a model that, as CFPB discovery later confirmed, costs borrowers less than a single overdraft fee per $100 loan.

Five Months Later: The CFPB Dismissed the Case , With Prejudice

Congressman Jackson sent his letter in September 2024. In February 2025, the CFPB permanently dismissed its lawsuit against SoLo Funds , with prejudice.

We are not claiming causation. However, we are noting the sequence.

A sitting U.S. Congressman personally reviewed our platform, met with our leadership, reached the independent conclusion that the CFPB’s approach was wrong, and put his name on a formal letter to the Director saying so. The CFPB’s own acting director subsequently called the lawsuit “wrong” and said the “weaponization of consumer protection must end.” The case was permanently closed.

What Congressman Jackson saw , when he looked at the actual product, the actual members, and the actual costs , was not a predatory lender. It was a community platform providing access to capital at a lower cost than any alternative available to the people it serves.

The CFPB, when it finally examined the evidence, reached the same conclusion.

What This Moment Tells Us About the Fight for Financial Inclusion

We don’t share Congressman Jackson’s letter because it makes us look good. We share it because it is part of a larger story about who gets to build financial products for underserved communities , and who gets protected while doing it.

The financial system as it exists today was not built for the people SoLo serves. It was built for people with credit scores, savings accounts, collateral, and the patience for approval processes. The 200+ million Americans living paycheck to paycheck were, for decades, largely an afterthought , or worse, a market segment to be exploited with overdraft fees, payday loans, and subprime credit card rates that generated billions in institutional profit.

SoLo built something different. Not because it was the obvious business decision. Because it was the right one.

When a Member of Congress , the son of Jesse Jackson, representing Chicago’s South Side , writes to the head of a federal agency and says “find fair, meaningful regulation that allows for them to operate in a robust way”, that is a signal about what communities across America actually need. Not fewer innovative financial tools. More.

We heard that. We hear it from our 3 million members every day. Additionally, we’re not stopping.

Frequently Asked Questions

Did a U.S. Congressman support SoLo Funds against the CFPB? Yes. On September 5, 2024, U.S. Congressman Jonathan L. Jackson, Democrat representing Illinois’ 1st Congressional District, wrote a formal letter to CFPB Director Rohit Chopra urging the Bureau to work with SoLo Funds toward fair, meaningful regulation rather than pursue enforcement that would eliminate financial access for underserved Americans. The Congressman personally reviewed SoLo’s platform before writing the letter.

Who is Congressman Jonathan Jackson? Congressman Jonathan L. Jackson represents Illinois’ 1st Congressional District, covering Chicago’s South Side and south suburbs. He is the son of civil rights leader Rev. Jesse Jackson, serves on the House Committee on Foreign Affairs and House Committee on Agriculture, and was reelected in November 2024. He is a longtime advocate for economic justice and underserved communities.

What did Congressman Jackson say about SoLo Funds? Congressman Jackson’s letter described SoLo as a critical source of financial access for underserved communities, highlighted that SoLo is not the lender on its platform but rather facilitates community-funded loans, noted SoLo’s distinction as the only Black-led Certified B Corp in its space, confirmed that SoLo had voluntarily engaged with the CFPB for two years prior to the lawsuit, and called on the Bureau to find fair, meaningful regulation that allows SoLo to operate across the country.

What happened to the CFPB lawsuit against SoLo Funds after Congressman Jackson’s letter? The CFPB permanently dismissed its lawsuit against SoLo Funds with prejudice on February 24, 2025 , five months after Congressman Jackson’s letter was delivered. A dismissal with prejudice means the case is permanently closed and the same claims cannot be refiled.

Why did Congressman Jackson personally review SoLo’s platform before writing the letter? According to SoLo co-founder Rodney Williams, Congressman Jackson met with SoLo’s leadership, reviewed the product directly, and asked detailed questions before putting his name on the letter. His conclusion: this is the type of product underserved communities need , more affordable than payday loans, subprime credit cards, or earned wage access, and the only product fully funded by people rather than institutions.

Is SoLo Funds the only Black-led lending fintech B Corp? Yes. SoLo Funds is the only Black-led Certified B Corp in the lending fintech space in the United States and Canada. It was founded in 2018 by Travis Holoway and Rodney Williams and has since become the largest community finance platform in the U.S., having facilitated over $1.4 billion in transactions for its 3 million members.

This is what community finance looks like when it fights back. Join SoLo.

SoLo Funds is an AI-powered community banking solution providing unparalleled returns and access to capital for millions of Americans. Founded in 2018 by Travis Holoway and Rodney Williams, SoLo Funds pioneered a model of financial services that are equitable, empowering, and people-led. SoLo Funds, Inc. is a Certified Benefit Corporation and BBB Accredited. Banking services are provided by Bangor Savings Bank, Member FDIC.