Author Archives: Jeff Sovern

Cass Sunstein in Bloomberg View: “Why Trump Can’t Just Say ‘You’re Fired’ to” CFPB’s Cordray

Here.  Excerpt: Any effort to discharge Cordray would be illegal — and it might even precipitate something close to a constitutional crisis. * * * Both Republican and Democratic presidents have not loved the idea of independent agencies, operating outside of their daily control. But in 1935,[in the Humphries Exec case], the Supreme Court unanimously agreed […]

Book Announcement: Duke’s Edward J. Balleisen: Fraud: An American History from Barnum to Madoff

More here.  Chapters that look as if they may be of particular interest to CL&P blog readers include The Enduring Dilemmas of Antifraud Regulation, The Shape-Shifting, Never-Changing World of Fraud, The Call for Investor and Consumer Protection (1930s to 1970s),  Moving toward Caveat Venditor,  Consumerism and the Reorientation of Antifraud Policy The Promise and Limits of […]

Paul Bland in Money: Potential CFPB Head is a “Complete Hack for the Industry”

Here.  Excerpt: Trump is expected to almost immediately dismiss Richard Cordray, who has been the head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) since its creation in 2011. * * * "Consumer protection is important to a well-functioning financial marketplace," Neugebauer wrote in one of his arguments for a new CFPB structure. But "this protection […]

Bloomberg BNA: Trump and Cordray: Five Scenarios for the CFPB

Here. Excerpt: It’s also possible that Trump and Cordray may yet find common ground. * * * The Trump-Pence transition team, while generally tagging the Dodd-Frank Act as a brake on economic growth, has said nothing specific about the CFPB or its director. And although the conventional wisdom is that there’s little common ground between […]

House Financial Services Chair Hensarling: Financial CHOICE Act Will Change

Politico interviewed him here.  Excerpt: There will be some areas that will be improved but fundamentally you are going to look at a very similar piece of legislation that is going to replace bailouts with bankruptcy, that's going to give working Americans greater opportunities when it comes to their mortgages, their credit cards and achieving […]

More on the Possiblity of Neugebauer Replacing CFPP Director Cordray

From HuffPo. Excerpt: Trump met with former Rep. Randy Neugebauer (R-Texas) on Wednesday and is considering Neugebauer to run the CFPB, Trump spokesman Sean Spicer confirmed on a Thursday call with reporters. A source close to the transition team told HuffPost that Neugebauer has yet to be offered the job, but that no other candidates […]

FTC Chair Edith Ramirez Announces Departure, Leaving Three Seats Vacant

WaPo has the story here. excerpt: Ramirez's impending departure from the FTC is likely to leave the agency shorthanded with three vacancies on the five-member panel. With one Republican and one Democrat remaining, the FTC will likely be deadlocked in a partisan tie until the Trump administration can fill the other vacancies, which could take months. […]

Dallas News: Texas Congressman Randy Neugebauer, Reported to be Under Consideration to Head CFPB, Met With Trump

Here.  Excerpt: House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling, a Dallas Republican, has griped that the agency is “the single most powerful and least accountable federal agency in all of Washington.” He has pushed for the agency to be led by a bipartisan commission, rather than a single director. Neugebauer has endorsed that proposition, filing […]