Richard Cordray Announces Aggressive Agenda for Consumer Financial Protection Agency [View all]

[SunsetDreams]

Last edited Thu Jan 5, 2012, 11:12 PM - Edit history (1)

by Joan McCarter

Business Insider has a profile of Richard Cordray, President Obama's recess appointee to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, answering the question of why Republicans and Wall Street are so afraid of him.

So what's the problem with Cordray? There are two, one is an old Washington problem, and the other is purely Wall Street's:

1. Republicans said they would never support anyone to head the CFPB — Period —that is, unless the White House made serious changes to the agency. (Politico)
2. He doesn't just go after Wall Street Institutions. He goes after individual executives as well.

They follow up with specific examples of how Cordray fought Wall Street as attorney general of Ohio. So he went into this with a strong track record and is hitting the ground running. His speech today at the Brookings Institution won't allay any Wall Street fears.

*snip*

This quick and forceful roll-out, Greg Sargent points out, is smart strategy for the White House. Cordray is making clear that there's now a cop on the beat to protect working families from financial predators, something that couldn't happen as long as the agency didn't have a director. That means that Republicans, in so shrilly screeching in opposition to the appointment, are not only defending governmental gridlock, but doing so expressly to protect Wall Street. Both are losing positions for the GOP.

More here: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/01/05/1051907/-Richard-Cordray-announces-aggressive-agenda-for-consumer-financial-protection%C2%A0agency?via=tag

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The Brookings Institution: A DISCUSSION WITH RICHARD CORDRAY
CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION BUREAU DIRECTOR
01/05/2012
Full text: http://www.brookings.edu/~/media/Files/events/2012/0105_cordray/20120105_consumer_protection.pdf

Video here: http://www.brookings.edu/events/2012/0105_cordray.aspx

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UPDATE

Thanks Tx4obama for this one:

Standing Up for Consumers
1/4/12 02:15 PM ET
By Richard Cordray

Today, I was appointed by President Obama to serve as the first Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. I am honored by this opportunity to continue my work on behalf of consumers. And I am energized by the responsibilities and challenges facing the Bureau.

The importance of this day has less to do with me personally and much more to do with you -- and the millions of individuals and families across the country who access consumer financial markets every day to participate in our economy and to pursue their dreams and aspirations. That's because now, with a Director, the CFPB can exercise its full authorities -- with respect to both banks and nonbanks -- to help those markets operate fairly, transparently, and competitively.

Consumer finance is a big part of our economy -- and it plays a large role in the daily life of almost every American. Few people spend their entire lives with so much wealth available to them that they never need to borrow money. Whether it is to pay the bills and meet their everyday needs, or to finance larger investments in their futures like an education or a home, most people find it necessary to use financial products to access credit.

Financial products can help make life better, but they can also make life harder. Most of us know at least someone -- a parent or sibling or friend -- who has money troubles. Sometimes, those troubles are caused by a tough break or just not having enough money to go around; other times, by a poor decision. But sometimes, those consumer money troubles arise out of problems in the consumer financial markets. I have seen senior citizens lose their life savings to scams and fraud. I have seen young adults start their lives with crushing student loan debt burdens that they cannot afford. I have seen families bankrupted, and thrown out of their homes, by complex mortgages with spiraling interest costs and monthly payments that were never clearly explained.

More at link: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/richard-cordray/standing-up-for-consumers_b_1184002.html