Richard Cordray's Very Full Plate
Published March 26, 2012 12:51 PM
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Updated March 26, 2012 1:01 PM
1 Min Read
CFPB Director Richard Cordray spoke at the Consumer Bankers Association convention last week, and while there sat down with American Banker. In nearly four months on the job, he's had to build an entirely new regulatory apparatus while a debate still rages about his lack of Senate confirmation. Among the issues demanding his attention are how to apply regulations for different-sized institutions, maintaining adequate resources for the agency and not letting politics influence the CFPB’s work. (Image: Bloomberg News)
Cordray on leveling the regulatory playing field:
“What’s important is that we try to level the playing field between banks and non-banks, who were way off in a different direction. … But in a thoughtful, careful way, potentially writing rules that might apply differently at different levels of institutions with different business models, that makes sense.” (Image: ThinkStock)
On banning products:
Dodd-Frank “never talks about banning any product, it talks about acting against unlawful acts or practices. We’re not there to sort of design or oversee innovations in the financial sector, we’re meant to enforce the law against unlawful acts or practices.” (Image: ThinkStock)
On keeping politics out of regulation:
“It is a presidential election year, but that shouldn’t make any difference to our work, and it shouldn’t make any difference to the way people regard us. We have a job to do.”
On defining “unfair, deceptive or abusive acts or practices”:
“We have no desire to upset all expectations and come out with some half-cocked, self-devised definition when the law is clear. As for ‘abusive,’ Congress has defined it in the statute. Our job will be to apply that to particular facts and circumstances, and we will do that as we go.” (Image: ThinkStock)
On the CFPB’s having the resources to oversee nonbanks:
“It’s something that we worry about. I think time will tell. For us to be successful, we need to coordinate closely and effectively with our fellow agencies in Washington and with other partners around the country, such as the Conference of State Bank Supervisors.” (Image: ThinkStock)
On safety and soundness versus consumer protection:
“As we [regulators] work together more and more, I think people are getting more comfortable with one another, and that should result in [banks] not having to worry about rivalries or disagreements or fundamentally different directions from … regulators.” (Image: ThinkStock)
