Big Changes Ahead at the CFPB
President Joe Biden announced his intention to nominate Federal Trade Commissioner Rohit Chopra to serve as Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. And late on Inauguration Day, President Biden announced that Dave Uejio, currently head of strategy at the agency would serve as acting director until Chopra is confirmed.
As Bloomberg reported this morning:
[Commissioner] Chopra is familiar with the CFPB. The former consumer advocate helped establish the bureau alongside Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) after the financial crisis. He then served as the bureau’s first student loan ombudsman. Chopra is expected to reinvigorate the bureau quickly, beefing up its enforcement and oversight, particularly with a focus on Covid-19-related consumer relief, said Lucy Morris, a partner at Hudson Cook LLP. “He’s going to look to use all the tools in more expansive and creative ways,” said Morris, a former CFPB deputy enforcement director who worked with Chopra at the bureau.
AFSA released the following statement from Bill Himpler, President and CEO of the American Financial Services Association:
AFSA and its member companies congratulate Commissioner Chopra on his nomination to lead the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Since the Bureau’s inception, AFSA and our members in the traditional installment lending, vehicle finance, payment card, and mortgage industries have worked constructively with the CFPB leadership and staff,” said AFSA President & CEO Bill Himpler.
Mr. Chopra understands our issues from his time with both the CFPB and the FTC, and we look forward to working with him and the CFPB staff on policies that ensure consumers are both protected and have access to the credit products that meet their needs.
January 21st, 2021 by Dan Bucherer
