For the second time in a year, judges of the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit have heard arguments about the constitutionality of the structure of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. How the court ultimately rules will determine whether or not the head of this watchdog agency can be fired and replaced at the whim of the President. [More]
richard cordray
Appeals Court Hears Arguments For, Against Letting President Fire Consumer Protection Chief
By 5.24.17 — Updated: 5.25.17
White House Wants Authority To Fire Consumer Protection Chief
By 3.20.17 — Updated: 1.4.18
While the heads of most federal agencies have been replaced since the new administration moved into the White House, Richard Cordray remains Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. That’s because President Trump currently can’t fire him without having to first show cause — a requirement the White House wants to get rid of. [More]
Consumer Advocates, 17 States Willing To Defend CFPB In Court If Trump Administration Won’t
By 1.26.17
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is barely five years old and its future is already in doubt after a divided federal appeals court ruled that the CFPB’s leadership structure is unconstitutional. The Bureau’s legal battle is far from over, but the new Trump administration would likely not fight a court ruling the White House seems to agree with. That’s why a number of consumer advocates and more than a dozen state attorneys general have stepped up, seeking to defend the CFPB if the new executive branch won’t. [More]
Justice Department Calls For Rehearing On Constitutionality Of Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
By 12.22.16
With only weeks to go before President-elect Trump could possibly replace the Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau with someone of his choosing, the U.S. Justice Department is asking a federal appeals court to rehear arguments in a case involving the constitutionality of the Bureau’s structure. [More]
Banks Ask Congress To Alter Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Roll Back Pro-Consumer Regulations
By 12.7.16
While virtually all federal agencies will soon see a change in leadership when President-elect Trump enters the White House, the future of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and its Director remain in question. In an effort to work around those legal concerns, the banking industry has called on Congress to legally change the structure of the CFPB, and to roll back a number of the CFPB’s recent and pending regulations on banks and lenders. [More]
21 Lawmakers Come Out To Defend The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
By 11.29.16
While most federal agencies will soon see a change in leadership and direction after President-elect Donald Trump takes office, the head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is supposed to be shielded from such sudden changes. A recent court decision put that protection — and the future of the CFPB itself — in question, but today a group of 21 federal lawmakers, along with a coalition of consumer advocates and civil rights groups, asked the court to keep the CFPB’s structure intact. [More]
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Challenges Ruling That Its Structure Is Unconstitutional
By 11.18.16 — Updated: 2.16.17
Last month, a split three-judge panel of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the structure of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is unconstitutional as it puts too much authority in the hands of one person. Now the CFPB is challenging that ruling, petitioning for a review of the matter by the full D.C. Circuit, in what the Bureau claims “may be the most important separation-of-powers case in a generation.” [More]
Future Looks Dim For Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Under Trump Presidency
By 11.11.16
On the campaign trail, President-elect Donald Trump made his disdain for the 2010 Dodd-Frank financial reforms clear, leaving many to wonder what a Trump White House would mean for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau — the financial services regulator created by the 2010 legislation. Now that pieces are beginning to fall into place for the Trump transition plan, the outlook for the CFPB does not appear very bright. [More]
Appeals Court Calls CFPB Structure Unconstitutional; Throws Out $109M Penalty Over Alleged Mortgage Kickbacks
By 10.11.16
Since its creation as part of the sweeping financial reforms of 2010, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has, through settlements and enforcement actions, returned billions of dollars to Americans who were wronged by financial institutions. But consumer advocates say a new ruling from a federal appeals court threatens to undercut the Bureau’s independence and its ability to hold banks, credit card companies, mortgage lenders, and others accountable. [More]
Senate Finally Confirms Richard Cordray As CFPB Director
By 7.16.13
Pop the bubbly and take a deep breath of relief, Richard Cordray. The Senate finally reconfirmed Cordray today as the director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, a post he’s held since the bureau’s creation in January 2012. It’s about dang time, as the vote had been idling along in light of a stalemate among some lawmakers who wanted changes to be made to the CFPB first before any nominee was even considered. [More]
Survey Says: 74% Of Consumers Support Approving A CFPB Director
By 7.15.13
This week the Senate is preparing to vote on whether or not to confirm Richard Cordray as Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, something that’s not a shock considering he’s been overseeing the bureau for the entirety of its existence, since January 2012. And while there has been some pushback against his confirmation, a survey from the Consumer Reports National Research Center shows 74% of consumers support the approval of a director. [More]
CFPB: Bank Customers Leaking $225 In Overdraft Fees Per Year On Average
By 6.11.13
Why is your bank account leaking so much money ever year? Where does it all go? Checking account customers are bleeding funds to the tune of about $225 per year on average, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau says in a new study. That means that despite regulations aimed at lessening the effects of overdraft fees and clear up the whole process. [More]
Senate Panel Gives Thumbs-Up To Confirming CFPB Director Cordray
By 3.19.13
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau director Richard Cordray moved one step closer to sticking around as the young agency’s head this morning, with the Senate Banking Committee narrowly giving its approval to his confirmation. [More]
One Complaint To CFPB Fixes Mortgage Snafu That 9 Months Of Dealing With The Bank Couldn’t
By 3.12.13
As Consumer Financial Protection Bureau director Richard Cordray pointed out in his testimony before the Senate Banking Committee this morning, more than 130,000 American consumers have used the agency’s numerous complaint portals to help resolve their problems with financial institutions. Consumerist reader Charles is just one of those people who still has a house because the CFPB was able to accomplish in a few days what no one else could in almost a year. [More]
CFPB Director Cordray To Make His Case For Another Term Tomorrow
By 3.11.13
A little more than a year after taking the reins as the first Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Richard Cordray will be appearing tomorrow before the Senate Banking Committee to answer questions and make his case for another term at the Bureau’s helm. [More]
Richard Cordray Re-Nominated To Head Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
By 1.24.13
Ever since Richard Cordray was appointed head of the very first Consumer Financial Protection Bureau back in January 2012, he’s rolled up his sleeves as the director and dug into the task of making the financial industry less confusing to consumers. He and the CFPB have addressed credit card companies, credit bureaus, debt collectors, mortgage applications, big banks and their myriad of fees and all matter of consumer complaints. And now he gets to do it again this year! [More]
CFPB Devises New Simple Forms For Mortgages That Won't Boggle Your Eyeballs
By 8.10.12
If mortgage disclosure forms actually told homeowners exactly what they were getting into, in the simplest of terms, perhaps everyone could catch a break — from the lenders to the often confused consumers who have to deal with the current system and its four complicated documents from two separate government agencies. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is on the march once again, and this time its director Richard Cordray is proposing one simple mortgage disclosure form. [More]
Cordray: Credit Bureaus Are A "Murky Unknown" To Consumers
By 2.21.12
Last week, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced it was drafting new regulations that would allow for the oversight of the largest credit reporting bureaus and debt collection companies. The reason, explains CFPB head Richard Cordray is that many consumers are in the dark about these businesses and feel somewhat helpless when it comes to dealing with them. [More]
