Category Archives: Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

Dean Baker: The Economic Efficiency Argument for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

Here.  Excerpt: The basic story is that if it's possible to make lots of money by using deceptive contracts to ripoff consumers, then many very talented and hard-working people will spend their time developing schemes to ripoff consumers. Instead of doing things that contribute to consumers' well-being (e.g. developing better products), these people will be […]

Politico: ” Rumors continue to burn through the financial lobbyist community that the new Trump administration is ready to fire CFPB Director Richard Cordray”

by Jeff Sovern Here, in Morning Money.  Excerpt: THE POLITICS of firing Cordray would be tough for Trump. He could argue that the CFPB is an unaccountable agency lead by a too-powerful single director. Banking groups, especially those representing smaller and midsize institutions, would be would be thrilled. But the CFPB polls pretty highly and […]

The Hill: Cordray: No change for consumer bureau under Trump

Here. Excerpt: Cordray, who has helmed the CFPB as its first and only director, said Tuesday that he has no intention of stepping down early, despite pressure from Republicans eager to overhaul the 5-year-old agency. “It really shouldn’t change the job at all,” said Cordray of Trump assuming power. “We have an independent mandate to […]

Ken Cuccinelli Column: Reforming CFPB isn’t enough. Eliminate it. [Proposes Solution that Led to the Great Recession]

by Jeff Sovern Here, in the American Banker (free content). Cuccinellis is general counsel to the FreedomWorks Regulatory Action Center, and former AG for Virginia. Excerpt: Rather than tinkering with this regulatory monstrosity, let’s pursue a simpler course: simply eliminate the standalone agency. Most of the regulatory powers that the CFPB now wields were previously […]

My Times Dealbook Op-Ed: Trump Faces Stark Choice: Protect Consumers or Banks

Here.  Here's the beginning and the end:   President-elect Donald J. Trump will soon face a stark choice: whether to protect consumers, the ordinary Americans he pledged to defend against a system he criticized as rigged — or to side with that system. * * * If Mr. Trump chooses not to preserve a strong, […]

The Hill: Dem senators to Trump: Don’t tell consumer bureau chief ‘you’re fired’

Here. Excerpt: Schumer said Trump’s decision to “govern as a hard-right Republican” and possibly replace Cordray breaks his campaign promise to “drain the swamp” by fighting corporate interests on behalf of middle-class Americans. * * * The CFPB is currently finalizing rules on arbitration clauses, payday lending and debt collecting. Warren said the push to […]

Am Banker: Trump team signals it will oust CFPB’s Cordray

by Jeff Sovern Here (behind paywall). Excerpt: Exactly how President-elect Donald Trump intends to get rid of Cordray is unclear. Under the Dodd-Frank Act, Cordray can only be fired "for cause," and some speculate that the Trump administration is already building a case against the CFPB chief. One source with knowledge of the situation told […]

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 […]