by Jeff Sovern
Camden R. Fine is the president and CEO of the Independent Community Bankers of America, a trade group for community bankers. The American Banker recently published his op-ed, Don’t let a credit union regulator run the CFPB, opposing the candidacy of National Credit Union Administration Chairman J. Mark McWatters to head the CFPB. Here's an excerpt:
[A]mid concerns that the CFPB lacks sufficient checks on its regulatory authority, the NCUA’s willingness to flout Congress in its rulemakings makes its chairman suspect for leading the bureau. McWatters and others at the NCUA have been strident advocates for expanding the credit union charter far beyond what Congress intended when it established the industry in the 1930s.
* * *
The CFPB should not be led by the head of an agency that has acted as a cheerleader for the industry under its oversight.
* * *
if Washington is willing to settle for single-director governance at the CFPB, then let’s advance a director with meaningful experience in the full range of regulations for which the CFPB is responsible. And let’s choose a leader not with a track record of cheerleading for the industry he is charged with overseeing and regulating, but rather a commitment to the laws by which our agencies are established by Congress.
Mr. Fine should be commended for pointing out that regulatory capture is a problem, especially when it comes to the CFPB (Mr. Fine's position appears to be rooted in the fact that credit unions compete with community banks). Regulatory capture has been endemic among banking regulators, most notably at the OCC. Indeed, it was the fear of regulatory capture that prompted Congress to structure the CFPB the way it did. It would be great if the next CFPB director, whomever that person may be, avoids regulatory capture, not only by credit unions, but also by banks and other financial institutions. One place the president could look for a director who would be unlikely to be captured by the industry, of course, would be among consumer advocates. Yes, I know, but a person's reach should exceed his grasp, or what's a heaven for?
