Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Richard Cordray accused opponents Thursday of falsely claiming CFPB regulations restrict loans to consumers.

“We routinely hear that the cost of protecting consumers will be to constrict the availability of credit, [but] we need to be wary of prophets of doom whose real agenda is to hamstring effective regulation in order to preserve predatory practices,” the CFPB chief told the Consumer Federation of America’s annual financial services conference in Washington, D.C.

He noted despite CFPB regulations on the home loan industry, the mortgage market is thriving.

“After our rules took effect last year, the number of home purchase mortgages was up by almost 5 percent over the prior year, and the trend appears to be accelerating this year,” Cordray said.

Giving another example of how consumer credit is expanding in the wake of tougher regulation, the CFPB head said six years after the passage of the Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure (CARD) Act, that type of credit is more available and cheaper with default rates at historic lows.

He credited CARD for helping consumers avoid $16 billion in “gotcha” credit card fees.