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Bank lobbyists tend to dismiss the importance of the consumer agency as a voting issue in the presidential campaign. Here's why they shouldn't.
January 12 -
Richard Cordray told a group of reporters Thursday that businesses should support the bureau's mission, and said he plans to work with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to ensure the agency is mindful of industry concerns as well.
January 12 -
For all the talk about legal challenges to the recess appointment of Richard Cordray as director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the American Financial Services Association, which represents nonbank consumer lenders, has no intention of stepping into the fray.
January 10 -
Richard Cordray, the bureau's first director, said Thursday that the CFPB will begin exercising its new authority to regulate nonbanks starting today, despite doubts from the industry about its authority.
January 5
WASHINGTON — Representatives from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau are paying a visit to the home state of two of its staunchest opponents this week.
The agency is holding a field hearing this week in Birmingham, Ala., in the heart of the districts served by Rep. Spencer Bachus, the chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, and Sen. Richard Shelby, the top Republican on the Senate Banking Committee.
Coincidence? Maybe. The hearing will focus on payday lending products, and Alabama has the highest number of payday lenders per capita, according to the CFPB.
The agency also recently tested two different designs for streamlined mortgage disclosure closing documents on consumers in Birmingham.
But the location has some wondering whether CFPB and its new director, Richard Cordray, are trying to send a political message with its latest venue.
Cordray has pushed back against Republican and industry claims that his recess appointment was not valid, and that the bureau may not have full authority to regulate nonbanks or prohibit so-called abusive practices. He said the bureau intends to move forward with investigations and prevent bad actors from harming consumers.
At a briefing with reporters last week, Cordray said he hasn't intended for his rhetoric "to be either strong or weak or heavy or light."
"I'm trying to be very matter-of-fact — we have a job to do, we're going to do our job," he said.
Asked whether he was concerned about being dragged into the political debate or becoming part of the president's reelection stump speech, Corday said no, and reemphasized the important work the bureau is doing.
"We now have full authority with a director to do that work, and we are going to walk one step at a time straight ahead to do that work," Cordray said. "So no, I'm not concerned about anything else. I'm concerned about the responsibility we have to carry it out adequately — and hopefully, excellently."
The hearing, scheduled for noon on Thursday at the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, will include testimony from consumer and civil rights groups, industry representatives and members of the public.
