Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

Richard Cordray is In: Watch Out Payday Lenders!

Richard Cordray President Obama took the opportunity yesterday, while lawmakers were on recess, to appoint Richard Cordray as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's (CFPB) first director.  The move is sure to ruffle a lot of feathers among Republicans in Washington D.C., but apparently Obama was sick and tired of watching the CFPB sit on the sidelines making suggestions that no one was obligated to listen to. They'll be a lot of partisan bickering regarding Obama's actions over the next few weeks, but I don't think most Americans really care about that.  The fact is Cordray is in, and he's probably not going anywhere for awhile.

CFPB's Credit Card Complaint System Struggling

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The CFPB is off to a rough start.  Still without a Director and lacking the day-to-day guidance of its mastermind Elizabeth Warren, I can't say this comes as a huge surprise.

The bureau did manage to get its much-anticipated credit card complaint system up and running by the time doors officially opened for business in late July.  Unfortunately, it wasn't running well.  Complaints logged by consumers weren't even getting forwarded to credit card companies for investigation due to technical glitches in the CFPB's system. Oops!

The CFPB: A New Cop on the Beat

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Elizabeth Warren, the Harvard professor appointed by Obama to get the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) up and running, sat down with the LA Times earlier this week for a Q&A session.

If you missed it and still have lingering questions about what it is Warren and the CFPB will be focusing on in the coming months, I highly recommend checking out the full interview for all the details.

CFPA Gets the Green Light

Despite a great deal of opposition from big-business lobbyists and right-wing politicians, the Consumer Financial Protection Agency (CFPA) has moved one step closer to seeing the light of day. The House Financial Services Committee, led by Chairman Barney Frank (D-Mass.), approved the CFPA's creation last Thursday and will now send the bill on to the full House.  And while the legislation is definitely a more watered-down version than others introduced earlier this year, its supporters, including President Obama, seem quite pleased with the progress so far.